Tips on Ways 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 visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted 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 tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist 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 souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from http://alexissmsi975.bravesites.com/tags/entries/kurt-criter-3 home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most 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, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely 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 sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.