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 touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 Kurt Criter and will never ever include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features 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 offered. The authentic Kurt Criter pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international 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 traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.