Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as extremely unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the credible 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.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry Home Page genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from 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 showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main 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 authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver visit their website would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home link anywhere in the world.