Obama Administration renders all ivory-decorated pipes worthless.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 10:34AM | Neill Archer Roan | Permalink tagged Banning ivory, Ivory | in Accessories, Artisanal Pipes, Collecting 
If you own any pipes with ivory decorative insets or flocs, these pipes are effectively rendered valueless within the United States. An executive order issued by the White House and the Department of the Interior bans the sale, resale, import, and export of ivory. According to “The New York Times,” the order will take effect this summer, but with its announcement, it has essentially already done its damage.
This order was created to strengthen the Endangered Species Act protection for African elephants. Ironically, it will continue to be legal to import two freshly killed elephant trophies (with ivory tusks) per year into the United States, but selling Grandma’s Steinway piano could land you in prison.
This order renders valueless teacups, knives, snuff boxes, dice, pool cues, pianos, musical instruments, pipes, tampers, guns, walking sticks, chess pieces, netsuke, boxes, jewelry, and other items too numerous to mention.
Some people believe that the ban does not apply to existing items. Not true. It applies to any and all items containing or decorated with ivory. Further, the burden of proof that the ivory is illegal in seizure scenarios is no longer on the government. The owner must prove it is legal.
In speaking to several pipemakers, I learned that Smokingpipes.com recently emailed those pipemakers it represents to inform them that they will no longer purchase pipes with any ivory on them. I confirmed this fact yesterday afternoon in a telephone call with the company’s CEO, Sykes Wilford.
The order contains some exceptions, but they are essentially moot because it will be impossible for anyone to prove that their ivory is legal, even if they have written documentation that it is over 100 years old because it will have had to have entered through one of 13 American ports authorized to sanction legal ivory. Those ports had no legal power until 1982 so proof of entry through those ports was not documented. As a purely practical matter, there is no way to comply with the law, even with items over 100 years old.
If you do not plan to ever sell any of your pipes with ivory, this is no problem because ownership is not illegal. However, you could not travel outside the United States with any ivory-decorated pipe assuming you wanted to bring it back with you without fear of seizure upon entry.
According to The New York Times, the order also applies to “rhino horn, whale teeth, tortoise shell and certain woods that are also regulated under the 1973 Endangered Species Act.”
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service published the following explanation for this order:
Why is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service taking these actions?
Last July, President Obama issued an Executive Order committing the United States to step up its efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. The Executive Order created an interagency taskforce, co-chaired by the Department of the Interior, and appointed a Federal Advisory Council to galvanize efforts to work across the government and the conservation community to strengthen and expand our response to the wildlife trafficking and poaching crisis. As stated in the President’s Executive Order, wildlife trafficking reduces the economic, social and environmental benefits of wildlife, while generating billions of dollars in illicit revenues each year, contributing to the illegal economy, fueling instability and undermining security. It is in the national interest of the United States to combat wildlife trafficking and ensure that we are not contributing to the growing global demand for elephant ivory and rhino horn.
Reader Comments (11)
"Two events planned by the non-profit Committee for Cultural Policy may provide the opportunity. Experts are gathering for an April 10 symposium at Cardozo Law School in New York to discuss a proposal to reform U.S. law and policy relating to the international exchange of cultural property. At the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on April 30, past and present directors of the Walters Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Getty Museum will join attorneys Michael McCullough, Kate Fitz Gibbon and Andrew Adler in a roundtable discussion on U.S. cultural property policy, law and the public interest. Their aim is to identify practical steps to rationalize and clarify laws that create uncertainty for collectors, public and private.
"Time remains to reshape the law. Fish and Wildlife is still clarifying the definition of antique and will publish a proposed or interim final rule for public comment by the end of June."
Grandma's Steinway is a shame, though admittedly my family was not well heeled enough to have such an heirloom, however selling those items still does create demand and instills ivory with value. There's a reason poaching still exists.
Ultimately it should be the beauty of an object that matters, rather than its materials or its monetary value. So I have no issues with a bill that makes a beautiful object that, before the ban was made with potentially ill-gotten ivory, effectively worthless. Donate it to a museum if you want to get rid of it.
Jon Guss is right. We are losing our freedom one law/executive order at a time. As someone said recently, maybe we should start calling the Statue of Liberty the Statue of Equality.
As a practical matter, I have some beautiful pipes with ivory rings. However, I have noticed that ivory turns a yellowish color with repeated smoking. So a pipe that is gorgeous with a bright white ring eventually looks tired and worn, no matter how well polished, with a yellow ivory ring. I guess if I wanted to sell one of these pipes, I would ask the original pipe maker (or, if that is not an option, another pipe maker) to take off the ivory ring and replace it with a bright white plastic ring. It will actually look prettier, even though it will lack the integrity of the original.
At the same time, I understand that new pipes made with ivory will have diminished value in America. Still, ours is a global economy, and I doubt if there is a similar ban throughout the world.
I struggle with this, as I understand the motive behind the regulation, but also the need for antiques to be able to be sold.
But it also makes me think about the W. Becker I have with Ivory ring, or the Jody Davis with the same... Do I know if these were made from legal ivory?? Not really no. So in a sense am I part of the problem? Creating demand?
Perhaps I am.
I suspect there may be amended definitions in June, until then I for one will be following the issue closely. Until then I doubt I'll look at pipes with ivory in them, whether dots, bars (the early Castellos) or trim rings.
--JP Tausig
All funded at tax payer expense.
And at five times the anticipated budget.
Meanwhile the policy enforcement arm of the agency is preparing to round up all the grannies selling their old upright piano's on Craigslist and send in their Rapid Response squads for raids on pool table auctions nationwide.
All in the name of protecting the people from themselves.
Remember: This isn't about Elephants and Rhinos and ivory. This is about government jobs. And don't you future criminals forget that.
"There are a lot of laws aimed at protecting endangered species, which is why we're very strict about allowing animals and wildlife products to be sold on eBay. I can confirm that all associated listing fees were credited back to your account.
Ivory may be listed in a few exceptional circumstances, but we have some very specific requirements. Antique furniture items and pianos (pre-1900) and other wooden items containing ivory inlays are still allowed, but these listings must include documentary proof from an official antiques expert that the item was created before 1900."
So even the tiny white dot prohibits the sale of an item. eBay did relent and re-list the item, their explanation being that these pipes are no longer made with ivory, but with a white resin!! Go eBay!!
It seems if you put the word "ivory" in a listing it will automatically flag up to eBay. In the case of older Dunhill pipes it is better to just describe it as an iconic white dot.
I have had the pleasure to see Elephants in the wild and also seen the destruction caused by Somali Shifta (now Al-Shabaab). We are talking about pipes................