Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't really authentic or 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in 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 also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. 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. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details. It is probably not real if a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a fake. There will likewise be a huge description cost distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even Kurt Criter locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. 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 likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.