Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other look at here touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation 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 business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a big rate difference in between genuine pieces and the replicas.
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 unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely 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 also have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.