Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't authentic 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler 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 look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, make certain 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 might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent alternative for buying Inuit art because the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise 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 indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced his response and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.