Deep philosophical issues there. Do you buy a flute for the playing or for the investment? Living in the moment or living for the future? No answers for anyone but myself on those questions…
Good karma
Steve
I have a modest stockpile of cocobolo, which has made the list I believe. I didn’t fully appreciate the potential downside of this initially. In fact, when I heard it was being listed, I spoke with my supplier and discussed the possibility of acquiring more of it before it becomes impossible. Now that idea seems much less sensible!
I did a little more reseach into the CITES listings. Apparently, there are three Appendices, I, II, and III. The species listed in CITES Appendix I are the most restricted, and my guess is that these are the ones covered by this new law. There do not appear to be many flute woods on Appendix 1, although Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia Nigra) is on there.
If you look at CITES Appendix II and III, there are many flute woods on there. The use of these, and their sale in finished products, is much less restricted, but you have to wonder about where we are heading. Some of the woods in either CITES Appendix II or III include: Bois de Rose from Madagascar, Brazilwood, Cocobolo, Madagascar Ebony, Lignum Vitae, Honduran Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood, and Verawood.
Looking further down the line, say at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) you can see many flute woods under their critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable lists. African Blackwood is already on their “borderline” list.
There is a summary of these lists here:
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/restricted-and-endangered-wood-species/
Jon
Hi Steve,
Good karma to you too. When I said what CITES restrictions will be in the future is a valid concern, I was thinking more of travel restrictions than its possible effects on investments. I agree with you. On the other hand, to plagiarize a joke I heard from a guitar player, my greatest fear is that when I am gone my wife will sell my flutes for what I told her I paid for them. All the best, Steve (that is my name too).
indeed…for personal use.
Selling the instrument while carrying it pursuant to a passport would violate CITES and presumably subject the owner to monetary penalties and the instrument to seizure.<<
That’s the issue!
until the inspector says, “gee, looks like Rosewood to me!”
and remember, the auction houses for years have been goofing this up, putting “rosewood” for “cocus”
it will create huge problems
Wood identification can be a serious challenge, even for very experienced wood workers. You get some variety of rosewood that has aged a bit, and in many cases it won’t be at all obvious what exactly it is. Then you have some ignorant official with minimal training and virtually no background in dealing with woods who gets to decide on the spot what an instrument is made from. That is a bit unsettling.
Just thinking … Clearly the problem of expert identification is nothing new, for all the things that have already been CITES restricted for years since 1975. Apart from horror stories like the one I cited above, what has been the general record of customs services in correctly sorting things? Is there supposed to be recourse to a trained CITES officer on staff? Does that matter anyway, if front line drudges are prone to act first and think later? Practically, is there an effective trick (i.e. magic words) to challenge a threatened confiscation by escalating it on the spot?
I remember one airport (Heathrow?) where there was a large glass case on a main concourse containing a display of CITES confiscations. It was both interesting and a bit scary.
The classifications (I, II and III) are legally defined entities. “Near Threatened” seems to be more of an advisory judgement call. It would be an interesting situation if African Blackwood made it into one of the restrictions, given the thousands of clarinets and oboes made from it.
I have no qualms about the severe restriction of ivory, and generally support anything that might protect wild elephant populations. I do not use it on instruments I sell and for years I have promoted the use of plastic alternatives, primarily the easy turning polyester “Alternative Ivory” from GPS Agencies in Great Britain. I have used the occasional bit of fossil ivory, as well as some antique ivory that I was given on a set of French bagpipes that I made in the 1990s, as well as a few flutes back then. However, I never take this set out of the country and these days I have other instruments I am playing more often. Similarly, all of my instruments that I have purchased lack any ivory. I can see where it will be a problem with violin bows, etc. so the main thing will be to document purchases, etc. or just to leave these instruments at home. Given the abundant reports of instruments being damaged on planes, its not a bad idea to have a travel instrument or in the case of something large such as a double bass, arrange to borrow something at the foreign destination.
Unfortunately, I doubt if any of these restrictions will do much to stem the flow of illegal raw ivory and other materials into countries such as China. In my neck of the woods here there are people going out and cutting down the larger maple trees, removing just the trunks for guitar wood, and sending it to China in containers. All to support their drug habits. 4 trees just up the street from me a while back. Someone was arrested. But then I noticed another tree that was just cut down sometime in the last month or two, a mile south of here, so someone is at it again. Enforcement on this end does little when China regularly imports such illegally derived resources and looks the other way.
Casey
Same thing happening down here, Casey. Local meth addicts have been moonlighting with chainsaws in the state redwood preserves, harvesting burls from the base of old growth redwood, effectively killing or fatally weakening the tree in the process. They’ve had to close at least one major park from dusk to dawn to try to control the problem.
There is a local industry built around redwood burl, but I suspect that it will dry up as they restrict it’s use. Like elephant ivory, I support this if it will preserve the remaining stands of old growth redwood. I’ve been using strictly salvage redwood since I started making flutes (I make a fair number of different flute types in which redwood really shines, the Chinese xiao being one of them). My local supplier is probably going to help me with some documentation to show that all of the redwood that I have bought from them was salvage. It’s not illegal at the moment, but if redwood gets added to the list that might be a bit awkward since I have so much of it. It would be nice to be able to show its provenance.
Ah delrin, from the regions which are holy land.
Just ordered some ivory, so I can stock up before the ban… 
This is an email an American friend sent me on Sunday about US Customs’ treatment of bamboo flutes recently. Book burning next?
“This was my life,” said musician Boujemaa Razgui in December, referring to the 13 handmade flutes that he played professionally, “and now they’e gone.” Arriving in New York City from Madrid with the 13 woodwinds in his checked luggage, he was shocked to discover that US Customs had destroyed them without notice because “wood” is a restricted “agricultural” import. Unsophisticated agents had apparently regarded them as mere bamboo. Razgui plays all over the world, including, since 2002, with the Boston Camerata ensemble staged by the city’s Museum of Fine Arts."
Best wishes,
Keith.
Yes, Keith, we discussed this at the time, here: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/flutes-destroyed-by-customs/89071/1
The man made a number of stupid mistakes, including bundling illegal raw bamboo with his finished flutes, not securing any documentation, and not hand-carrying his precious instruments. There’s a cautionary tale here, but it’s not the hysterical one (“book burning”) that some people are trying to spin.
I guess my idea of making flute cases from baby elephant trunks isn’t gonna get well received.
That’s different.
Jayz, how long are your flutes?
The plan is to get three or more cases from one trunk.
Umm… I’m somewhat proud yet too embarrassed to say.
“…malevolence … what can be explained by sheer stupidity - and in this case, pitifully poor training, and perhaps, sadly, ethnic prejudice.”
John, these are from your words in the topic you referenced me (which I hadn’t seen; thank you).
I think “… malevolence … and pitifully poor training and perhaps, sadly ethnic prejudice” are just some of the mentalities behind all such examples of “book” or any other kind of destruction like this one. Maybe it’s a classifiable syndrome, and in this case not one from an ancient Chinese dynasty or Nazism, but here and now, alive and well and living in America.
Call my indignation hysterical if you think it properly describes my reaction, but I know you wont mind me reminding you of the quote, “Freedom is lost when good men remain silent.”
However, I do appreciate your other more thoughtful sentiments on the subject in general and on this case in particular, and support your ideas to back up our music colleagues in any action they take.
All the best,
Keith.