Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic 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 actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed 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 mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee 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 tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Website Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should 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 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 unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise 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 also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.