Since the times of ancient Greece and Rome, ivory has been used to create beautiful objects. Over the centuries, it has been used to create sculptures, jewelry, religious artifacts, musical instruments, billiard balls, false teeth and many other items.
Ivory can be obtained from hippopotamus, whales, walrus and mammoths; the most common is the elephant tusk. Although it could be acquired from animals that have died from natural causes, it is usually acquired by the killing of the elephants. The value of this "white gold" has attracted poachers which have decimated the herds and threatens this incredible animal with extinction.
In an effort to help protect the survival of this species, the US government is enacting new laws concerning the ownership and sale of ivory. These laws are scheduled to go into effect in June of this year.
The laws prohibit the import of all ivory, including antiques and the export of all ivory with the rare exception of some antique.
You will be able to own ivory, but it will be illegal to sell the ivory across state lines and only sell it within the state if you can document and prove that the item was lawfully imported prior to 1990.
To qualify as an antique, it must be at least 100 years old and prove that it entered the country through one of 13 American ports authorized to sanction ivory goods. The burden of this proof falls on the owner or seller. Needless to say, it will be difficult for most people to produce such documents. This requirement is for any item that has used any ivory, such as the turning keys on a guitar.
Because of these new laws, many musicians are concerned that they can no longer use their instruments when they perform out of the state or out of the country. Pianos, Martin guitars, string and woodwind instruments often have ivory parts to them. Most of these instruments meet the 100 year age but can not prove the port that the ivory came through.
This also means that if you purchased a guitar that was owned by a famous musician, maybe signed by the musician and it has ivory in its construction, you can no longer sell it or transport it across state lines.
Antique miniature paintings and art deco sculptures are just a few of the works of art that are facing the same problem.
The argument has been made that destroying these 100 year old items or preventing the sale of them does nothing to prevent the destruction of the elephant.
This law does allow hunters that have killed elephants to bring back two tusks per year into the USA.
Modern miniature artists switched from using ivory as a surface to paint on years ago and now use ivorine to obtain the same properties that ivory would have given them in their art.
