Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece might still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores 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 stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore 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 often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker showing that over at this website is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a fake. There will also be a big cost difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it ends up being harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Learn More Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.