Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Shop for Authentic 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 exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas 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 most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry 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 therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade 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 official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then Kurt Criter it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.