Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as really distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. 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 purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with exact details. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial price difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, 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 sculpted. The genuine 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 store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated 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 websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.