Many of us have inherited old ivory from our grandparents’ generation – plunder from colonial postings, or wartime mementos brought back to Blighty.
Ivory antiques are often beautifully worked, and very valuable, but perhaps difficult to fit into modern furnishing styles. Some of them are simply hideous, and it’s excellent news if somebody is prepared to pay good money for them.
However – are you allowed to sell them?
Not such an odd question – the trade in ivory is now carefully controlled and can result in prosecution of the unwary.
Under current rules you are only allowed to sell ivory if it is antique – which means it must have been worked (that is, carved) into its current form before 1947; and depending on which regulations (either the CITES rules, or the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations) you are considering, the key date may be the 3rd March 1947 or the 1st June – which takes provenance to a rather detailed level.
You are not allowed to sell ivory in an unworked form regardless of its age; and an item – a tusk or a tooth, say – which has been polished and mounted is not considered to be “worked”. So that elephant tusk which Great Uncle Arthur brought home from Nyasaland cannot be sold legally. You can admire it, and hang your smalls on it – but the law says you may not convert it into cash even if you have it carved into a chess set.
And beware of the ancient ivory ornament which has been repaired. For it to be saleable, you need to show that any ivory used in the repair was “worked” before June 1947.
So if you have ivory, and you’d like to sell it – consult somebody who understands the rules and will provide sensible advice. A good starting point is our “Make an Enquiry” page. If you click the “Ivory” category you’ll find 297 of our contributors are seriously interested.
