Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to purchase 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.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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 sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local go northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted 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 shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.