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 magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 traveler areas popular with worldwide 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 art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really genuine 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. 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 traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to 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 in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a specific Kurt Criter Denver piece with specific details, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a huge price difference between genuine pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.