Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as really distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might 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 likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must 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 often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic 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. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a big cost difference between genuine pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise 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 handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller claims that such as Kurt Criter Denver piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes 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 available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art Kurt Criter Denver type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 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 home anywhere in the world.