Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine and 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional 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 areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 typical tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian go to this web-site Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.