Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell 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 genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 normal tourist keepsakes such as t-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 might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from additional hints 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 art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, 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 big cost distinction between genuine pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, 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 readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.