Tips on How to Buy and Shop for 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. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual 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 genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to 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 go now ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a phony. There will likewise be a huge price distinction in between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may 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, other they are more than likely Kurt Criter not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.