Brazil Proposes Tougher Pernambuco Protections, Threatening Bows Worth $30,000
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 14
Brazil Proposes Tougher Pernambuco Protections, Threatening Bows Worth $30,000
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 14
Summary
Brazil last summer proposed stronger international protections for pernambuco, an endangered hardwood used in the vast majority of string-instrument bows.
That move raised fears that bows containing the wood could face new trade or travel restrictions, creating legal risks for musicians carrying costly instruments across borders.
Those concerns echo earlier seizures of protected materials: in 2014, Kennedy Airport officials confiscated Budapest Festival Orchestra bows with pre-ban ivory tips before later returning them.
Musicians have already altered valuable instruments to avoid similar trouble, including a Metropolitan Opera cellist who replaced the ivory tip on his nearly 100-year-old, $30,000 bow.