Tips on How to Purchase and Look 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 nation. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't authentic or perhaps 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought 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 often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a huge price difference in between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those Kurt Criter unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type 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 declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.