Interesting chaps, personally Vandoo I don't think the best carver of anything will be around today... because he will use electric power tools for speed...{time equals money.} so he may have an artistic eye but its not like the 1920 when it was all done with micro chisels where you needed to understand the medium, the texture & grain you were working in. With abrasive tools that is not so important.
Interesting point David re. a line in the sand.
For the law to be just. {whether people agree with it or not.} it needs accurate dates of what ok & what isn't.
You mention the Cities 1972 order, which actually banned the international trade in worked artefact dating pre. 1 june 1947.
That how the law is in used in most of Europe, although its only the last few years it been more heavily enforced.
Why that date was chosen I am not sure, {But it was just a month before the British gave up ruling India & Burma...}
But that date is more a less checkable as I understand, all bone ,,Ivory & horn on the planet had different radioactive isotopes than anything pre. August 1945 {Hiroshima.} it just took a couple of years to infiltrate every organic still alive via food. So all though there's a 2 year question of proof with that, it is more or less provable.
Any other arbitry date , comes down to opinion, of is it realy that old or not, not proven fact. Morally I think 1972 is fine but, how does one prove such? & what prevents it being faked or mistaken opinion?
That's why I think the 1947 date is a good year... it is provable more or less.
But sadly whatever any of our thoughts it probably wont make a lot of difference to the current & forthcoming new laws.
In England its also illegal to rework old ivory, because years ago people would claim all there modern ivory work came from that one old tusk or item they had a receipt for..... And human nature being what it is many tusks would go through on that one receipt. {No dna matching to receipts.} I think that was also part of the 1972 act but could be mistaken.
Ivory poaching was already seen as a problem by cities back then.
But I think its stepping into another degree now.
Already Illegal import or export of one piece of ivory without the legal paperwork in Europe {the eec.}is punishable by up to 7 years in jail now.
spiral