Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some 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 is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. 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 usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian 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 genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art given that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must 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 sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a substantial price distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication Kurt Criter which is devoted completely to Inuit art. 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 also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.