Tips on How 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 splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, 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 official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of Kurt Criter art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, 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 authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.