Documenting OLD elephant ivory for bow tips

[Regis]

I've purchased some very old elephant ivory that I plan to use restoring bows. With the current restrictions, does anyone know if documentation must go with each bow? If so, what kind? I have, of course, the description and receipt for my purchase.

Surely someone else is cutting up old ivory for the same use.

Thanks,

Regis

[Jeffrey Holmes]

You should check with the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, but I'm afraid that the way I understand the CITES treaty is that once you alter the ivory (by putting it on the bow) it cannot be legally imported/exported to/from a signatory country. I am not a lawyer, however... but I have done some importing of antiques under CITES.

[Woodland]

I purchased an old piece of pre-ban ivory (a small chunk just big enough for a mandolin nut) a few years back. The supplier provided an affadavit of origin with a Tusk I.D. number. Even though this particular piece was well documented from the supplier, I decided it would probably be best not to purchase any more. Like Jeffrey Holmes stated, I would contact the USFWS to find out the exact conditions of the law. On a related note, I know that there have been a number of bows mounted with tortoise shell made after the ban, but are apprently openly traded in the major auction houses and shops. I myself also deal in instruments and bows and noticed that one wholesaler is offering new tortoise shell mounted bows made in Asia (no, I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole). I understand that there is a synthetic tortoise shell available today, looks close to the real thing. Is it that the importation and sale of these objects isn't carefully monitored, or can they easily get away with claiming these are synthetic frogs? Thoughts anyone?

[deStaunton]

Well, as an aside, I have seen some new Chinese bows being touted as being "tortoise-shell mounted." I am quite sure that they were synthetic, though I wasn't able to do a conclusive test on the job site... seemed to be some unwise hype.