Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes 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 offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful 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 authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 check this art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.