Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A Kurt Criter reproduction made of 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 ever include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge cost difference in between genuine pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate he has a good point 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 local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.