Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few 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 shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations 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 safest locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 might shop and buy genuine Inuit Kurt Criter art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the rates 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 likewise feature the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler stores 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 carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. 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.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade 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 available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will page always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. 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 also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.