Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found 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 maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with 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 be aware that an anonymous piece might still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some tourist shops Kurt Criter do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details. If a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a big rate difference in between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the recreations that are also made of 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 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 more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated 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 artwork, then it can be safely presumed 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.