Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also 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 trusted online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise feature Kurt Criter Denver the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and Kurt Criter Denver might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global 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 traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.