Tips on Ways To Buy and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, 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 genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler 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 authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never 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 exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a substantial price distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.
Where it becomes harder to identify credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted 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 Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art https://www.quora.com/profile/Kurt-Criter has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.