Tips on How 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 exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece might still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and Kurt Criter for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from 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 business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too ideal in information with outright straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will also be a huge price difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo https://www.pinterest.com/kurtcriter/ tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.