Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their houses or as very unique presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really authentic 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxmDR0Lf7eKav0Z4XkSZcWl9N4D2c9qa Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 reproduction will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific information. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too ideal in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a substantial rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however 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 main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.