Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really genuine 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also 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 however none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but 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 home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine 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 real gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even Recommended Reading locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling 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 bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Kurt Criter 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.