Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. 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 purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture http://kurtcriter.brandyourself.com/Links 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 also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.