Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine 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 regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as extremely distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really genuine or perhaps 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility 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 discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need he said to be careful so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing 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, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.