Mike's Oud Forums

Be Aware - Very Strict Ivory Ban in USA

mavrothis - 3-14-2014 at 06:36 AM

Hi everyone,

I was just forwarded this article on the Ivory Ban on Musical Instruments traveling into or through the USA: Ivory Ban Article

Please be aware, whether the ivory on your instrument was 'harvested' pre-ban or not, whether the instrument itself is from another century or not, the fact is that it can be seized coming into the US, even for a traveling musician, if you do not have paid documentation that the instrument was PURCHASED before 26 February, 1976.

Whatever your stance is on this, I just want us all to be aware in case you have an instrument with ivory on it and are thinking of traveling through or to the US, even if you are an American resident and returning from abroad.

Also, instruments with bone on them (aside from nuts, such as inlay) may sometimes be mistaken for ivory. Do any luthiers here or other members have suggestions as to how we can document this in case we find ourselves at the hands of an ignorant/aggressive TSA or other such border/customs employee?

Thanks,

mavrothi

Jody Stecher - 3-14-2014 at 08:08 AM

Time will tell, but I would think that in the unlikely event of being asked to open your instrument case, if the subject of ivory comes up, simply saying that any ivory part is something else (camel bone, beef bone, plastic, walrus tusk, fossilized shaving cream) should suffice. I do not think there are any customs officials working at US airports or at border crossings who can tell the difference. I'll bet dollars to donuts that no customs official who a musician might meet coming in to the USA or TSA official met going out can tell Indian Ivory from African Ivory and the ban seems to only be on the latter. So if you have old ivory on your old instrument from now on it is from India.

The CITES Brazilian rosewood ban has been law for a very long time but I know of no genuine cases of confiscation, just a few tall tales.

mavrothis - 3-14-2014 at 08:10 AM

I hope you're right Jody.

As you say, time will tell.

Brian Prunka - 3-14-2014 at 08:35 AM

Note that this applies equally to tortoiseshell.

DoggerelPundit - 3-15-2014 at 10:40 AM

They can and they will. If they say your beef bone nut or inlay is illegal ivory, just what are you going to do about it? Fat lot of good objective facts did for this guy.

https://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2013/12/outrage-at-jfk-as-cu...

-Stephen

Brian Prunka - 3-15-2014 at 12:38 PM

It seems to me that customs officials not being able to tell the difference is more reason for concern, not less. Not many of us have real ivory, tortoiseshell, or brazilian rosewood on our instruments, but may have various kinds of bone and rosewood.

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/magazine/guitar-lover’s-...

There are some documented cases of confiscation/seizure, of course the details are always different so it is difficult to generalize:
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2014/01/here-we-go-again-can...

Jody Stecher - 3-15-2014 at 02:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by DoggerelPundit  
They can and they will. If they say your beef bone nut or inlay is illegal ivory, just what are you going to do about it? Fat lot of good objective facts did for this guy.

https://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2013/12/outrage-at-jfk-as-cu...

-Stephen


Well….*something* happened.

This act of government-sponsored vandalism apparently had nothing to do with CITES law or the recent ivory ban. According to one version it was because an ignorant and empowered person decided the flutes were agricultural products. OK, it's a case of perceived contraband but I don't think it is related to the new law or related to carrying musical instruments over the US border.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2014/01/01/customs-offic...

Note that in this version, the flutes were not with the musician when this happened. There was no conversation. He was flying from Morocco to Boston with a stopover in NYC and that is where his flutes (which were in checked luggage) were confiscated and destroyed. He didn't know until he got to Boston that his flutes were gone and until he made a telephone call didn't know they were destroyed and why.

In another story they were systematically broken in front of him while the customs officials sang Nyaa Nyaa Nyaa and stuck out their tongues, and, in this version, presumably he still has the pieces.

So what really happened? We don't know.

This sort of thing can happen anywhere in the world at any border. They can decide to blow up your suitcase if they are in the mood to do so. They can also send you home and keep your luggage. They can break your luggage and sell your passport. They can confiscate your flutes and break your legs. I have one friend who was detained at a Central Asia border for 3 days. He and his wife were given clean beds and decent food and then as mysteriously as it started, their passports and luggage —including some string instruments which were unharmed —were returned to them and they were allowed to pass.

I have had the following items confiscated at borders (not only US border): toothpaste, philips head screwdriver, hex wrench, steel wool (which they gave back after a while), and I witnessed a fellow band member have his saddle soap confiscated. When departing Bombay for London I had a small nail file confiscated and was brought into a very large and empty room for "interrogation". My hand carry luggage was searched. The border official found a book that was to his liking, opened to a random page, place the file between the pages, closed the book, returned the book to my carry-on bag and returned the bag to me, sending me on my way with a big smile.

On another occasion, many days after landing, officials of a Far Eastern nation where I was working (OK, it was China) entered my hotel room, hid all my bedding behind a curtain, and confiscated some postcards I had written but not mailed, and then returned them the next day. But when crossing borders I was carrying one or two instruments each time and not once was any border official interested in examining it for contraband components. The TSA guys (and their equivalent all around the world) are often interested, but in a friendly way. Often they have a relative who plays string music or they themselves play music and are simply curious to see something new.

What do I deduce from all this?

That the flutes were not perceived as musical instruments by the Customs Dunce.

That an oud as checked baggage (always an Iffy proposition) on a flight that involves changes of airplane is not a good idea. Keep the instrument with you in the overhead, my friends, keep a low profile, and She'll Be Alright, Mate.

Never travel with an old piano as checked luggage. They'll spot the ivory keys every time.