Tips on How to Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous 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 living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 also have sites so you might go shopping 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 also focus on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art given that the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals Kurt Criter Denver or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. 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. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a substantial cost difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 fantastic artwork, 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. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.