Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't genuine 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 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, especially 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 offered.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art given that the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 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 genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too perfect 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 obviously a phony. There will also be a huge price distinction between authentic pieces and the replicas.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating 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 authentic, 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 sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags Kurt Criter Denver will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling 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 acquired from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxmDR0Lf7eKav0Z4XkSZcWl9N4D2c9qa art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.