Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as very distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations 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 best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be informative post even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. 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, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.