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 touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere 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 safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
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. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack https://www.spokeo.com/Kurt-Criter/Colorado within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. 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 likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.