Tips on Ways To Buy and Look 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 nation. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really 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 art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee 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 might shop and purchase 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 likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction 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 company 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 artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a substantial cost distinction between genuine pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in Kurt Criter the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.