Tips on How 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 nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as very special presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. 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 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 replicas or fakes . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 might still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/OURJ/user/viewPublicProfile/5504 to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.