Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as very unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really genuine or perhaps 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 purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist 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 shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 recreation will in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a substantial price difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility 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 suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely 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, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine Kurt Criter Denver art kind 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 fantastic art work, 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 also listed 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.