Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, 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 authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist 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 best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 reproduction will in some cases have a business 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 racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will likewise be a big rate difference in between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Kurt Criter Denver Igloo tag that features 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 available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.