Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky you can try this out enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.