Tips on The Best Ways 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 nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really authentic 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler 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 sold.
The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites see so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art because the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 sometimes have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too perfect 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 undoubtedly a fake. There will also be a substantial rate distinction between authentic pieces and the imitations.
This can be a genuine 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 will have details 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 ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.