Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as extremely distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas 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 safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic 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 concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that Kurt Criter any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however 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 house anywhere in the world.