Tips on How to Buy 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 splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always 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.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also 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 just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home Kurt Criter throughout 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 good choice for buying Inuit art given that 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 need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made of 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 include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a substantial rate difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.