Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great 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 traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations 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 safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may 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 shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those Kurt Criter unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that 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 traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. https://www.buzzfeed.com/kurtcriter The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are this content signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.