Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful 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 mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
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. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags review to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.