Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as very unique presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed 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 somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art because the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will often have a business 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 store racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a particular piece with precise details. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge price difference in between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being harder to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be click to find out more the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.