So what is the scoop these day on traveling internationally with bows? The official word remains totally confusing, complex, and contradictory. I’m hoping for practical advice from folks traveling to the US from Europe.
My daughter is going to Europe for a program this summer. She’s got a good bow that has an ivory frog. (No, we did not kill the elephants ourselves; it’s an old bow that was made in the 60’s with antique ivory.) The frog can be temporarily swapped with an ebony frog (we would need to have this made), but the tip is ivory and there is a concern that the bow will not be the same with its tip swapped. She has a second bow that we could probably just swap out the tip on. But that still leaves the question of the possibility of the secondary bow being seized if the plastic even resembles ivory–because apparently the burden of proof is on the bearer of the instrument, and officials can seize any bow, snap off the tip, and take if off for testing… so is carbon fiber the only answer, or are musicians traveling more or less freely?
I would think that a letter from the luthier stating the composition of the bow should suffice. She should check with the manager of the conservatory’s orchestra also, because he/she should know the current regulations on travel or could at least point her in the right direction.
Congratulations, by the way; she’s going to have a great time!!
No, the letters won’t suffice according to Fish and Wildlife–at least the research I have done is very contradictory. You need a CITES certificate (those are very expensive and take forever to get) and you have to fly through designated cities–at least that is the official word. I wonder what is really happening out there. She’s going to be at a European program so I don’t know if they will have much advice for traveling Americans…but that’s a good idea for her to ask the program directors anyway.
Behold, the wonders of the myriad departments of the US Government. With crazy people jumping the White House fence and lunatics ending up in zip ties on cross country flights, you’d think that the government would have better things to keep them occupied. But no, the tip of a viola bow will catch the attention of an agent with an education that didn’t teach him to differentiate a mastodon from a platypus. It’s maddening.
I would hope that her conservatory would have information or she could contact the administrative offices of a major orchestra- they would definitely have someone on staff who would have the necessary info. Since the festival she is attending draws from all over the world, do they not have a liaison officer in the US?
I don’t know-- they do have some alumni in the states, for sure. I’ll keep you informed.
Son traveled back to US (through San Francisco) after Xmas and didn’t have any problems. He has mammoth ivory on one bow and the documentation to prove it but he has never been questioned. He is in Seoul right now with his school orchestra and they are all traveling back on Sunday (through Detroit). Will get a report from him when he returns to see if anyone has any difficulties.
Congrats to your daughter on the summer program.
Just a suggestion. If you are anticipating entering the country with an item which an uninformed party may regard as contraband, I would suggest discussing it online in the abstract rather than publically pointing out the point of entry and arrival date.
@halcyon4ever, identifying the points of entry and dates doesn’t really matter in this case. These are students who are traveling as part of an orchestra. They are not smuggling their bows across the border. The bows will be carried in their cases and are subject to inspection just like any luggage. They take them through security with them and it is up to the inspector as to how it is handled. My son’s bows have documentation with them and I am sure the university took the necessary steps to prevent any issues prior to their departure from the US.
From what I have heard (and please take this as simply what it is, scuttlebutt), that the enforcement of this doesn’t seem to be that strict. My S flew in from China last summer and had no problems, even though the custom’s people were not very nice, and friends of his who have been travelling for international competitions and such have had no problems. On the other hand, the Budapest Festival Orchestra had their entire collection of bows impounded when they entered the US last year, they had to borrow bows to be able to play at Carnegie Hall (the bows were later shipped home). The bad part is that the custom’s people can do pretty much what they want, the good news seems to be they aren’t making that big a fuss about it. I suspect that this may be another regulation that was proposed for a noble reason but in practice turned out to be a nightmare to try and enforce, not to mention that bows compared to what the Chinese in effect have killed every year is not exactly a high priority (note that the law didn’t ban imports of Chinese ivory based products, the claim being that the Chinese products were made from “legal ivory”, anyone wanna bet how valid the certificates those products have in fact are?).
@glassharmonica, S just arrived back in US and they all made it through customs fine. He doesn’t think anyone was questioned about their bows.
Thanks, everyone. My daughter did receive communication from her festival office advising them not to have ivory on bow. We’re wondering if she should invest in a carbon fiber travel bow…
I guess it depends on how much travel she anticipates doing. The bowmaker in our neck of the woods is now actually making a travel bow. It is similar to one of his regular bows but with a silver tip and ebony frog (no mother of pearl). We saw one at Christmas when my son was have his bow rehaired. Looks very nice and sleek with the all black frog. His name is Reid Hudson. He sells his bows all over the world. I never know the rules about posting websites on here but if you are interested you can google him or PM me and I will send the link.
@BCVIOLINMOM, that’s what we were thinking of-- a bow with a silver trip (possibly carbon fiber.) I will google that bowmaker. We also have a local bowmaker we will look into. We have been advised by bow professionals not to mess with the tip of her good bow (which also has an ivory frog–legal ivory, but we don’t want to risk needing to prove that or go through the expense of a CITES passport.)
not 100% sure about this, but I believe ebony (and also tortoiseshell) are also on the list of “contraband” materials. Maybe they are most interested in ivory?