Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit visit their website artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a website link kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit Kurt Criter Denver art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.