Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic 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 stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal 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 certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, area 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 official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in click this a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture Kurt Criter from home anywhere in the world.