Tips on Ways To Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed 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 careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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 sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler 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 sculpted from stone and therefore ought to 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 precisely like it.
Where it ends up being harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing 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 features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough More Bonuses 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 regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.