Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really authentic or 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Simply Your Domain Name to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art since the costs 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 include the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those visit here not familiar with authentic Inuit helpful resources art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.