Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global 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 buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically 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 shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only look what i found Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only 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. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must 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 store racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also 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 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 most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official 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 Kurt Criter Denver tag is not offered, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated 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 description of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.