Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. Considering 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 situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the respectable 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 publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the Kurt Criter carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art Kurt Criter type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling 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 acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.