Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular 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 numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive traveler imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really authentic 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art given that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from 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 absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact information. It is probably not real if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a huge cost distinction between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. 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 sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.