Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy keepsakes in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from 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 feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a big rate difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which next page will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or click here to find out more straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.