Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't genuine 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store 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 t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . https://www.manta.com/c/mmdg9st/vision-chemical-systems-inc Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece might still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home 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 tourist stores do bring 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 for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on resource the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably my review here not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.