Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite 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 bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from like it the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific information. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a substantial cost difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.