Tips on Ways To Buy 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 visiting the country. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't authentic and 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 terrific 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. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. 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 traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or Kurt Criter fakes . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a check this Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed 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 likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but 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.