Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Kurt Criter Denver Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic 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, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
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. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.