Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few 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 different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling 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 local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered 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 just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to 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 recreation will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with precise details. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker check my source label indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a substantial price distinction in between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place 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 official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can pop over here be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.