Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic or 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine 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 for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a review kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have description mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. 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, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky 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 any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art use this link galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely 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 websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.