Ivory Piano Keys and The Law
Updated: Oct 3
In Brief
It is legal to own and play a piano with ivory keys in the UK. However, selling or hiring one is regulated by the Ivory Act 2018.
Most historic ivory-keyed pianos can be legally sold under the musical-instrument exemption, but ALL THREE of the following conditions must be met:
the piano was made before 1 January 1975;
the ivory comprises less than 20% of the instrument by volume; AND
the piano is registered under the Ivory Act BEFORE it is advertised or otherwise offered for sale.
Being pre-1975 and containing less than 20% ivory is not enough. Without registration, the exemption does not apply.
Buyers should check the registration before purchasing. A standard registration does not permanently follow the piano to its next owner, and a fresh registration is required before any subsequent sale.
In simple terms: you may own it. You may sell it if it qualifies. But you must register it before you advertise it.
Ivory and The Piano
Before the advent of modern plastics and synthetic substitutes, piano makers relied upon natural materials capable of meeting demanding requirements of durability, workability and appearance.
Ivory became a favoured material for covering piano keys during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and remained in widespread use well into the twentieth.
Obtained principally from elephant tusk, its dense, finely grained structure could be sawn, planed and polished into the thin veneers required for keyboard manufacture, while its subtly textured surface provided a distinctive contact beneath the fingers. Together with its appearance and durability, these qualities made ivory particularly well suited to the keyboards of fine pianos.
It was never the only material used. Other natural materials appeared, while the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought an increasing variety of artificial substitutes, including celluloid and galalith, sometimes known by the trade name Erinoid. As synthetic materials improved during the twentieth century, they progressively displaced ivory from piano manufacture, at much the same time as the extraordinary environmental cost of the ivory trade was becoming better understood.
For owners of old instruments, the ivory surviving on a keyboard can therefore present a difficult intersection between respect for the history and originality of a piano and discomfort about the origin of the material itself. An original ivory keyboard may form an important part of the appearance, history and integrity of an instrument, but the material was once part of an animal and, in the piano trade, that animal was principally the elephant.
It is entirely possible to recognise both realities. An owner can value the originality of an historic instrument while acknowledging the circumstances from which its ivory came, and preserving material that has formed part of a piano for generations does not require us to defend the trade that supplied it.
Evolution of Ivory Legislation in the UK
For much of the twentieth century, there were comparatively few restrictions on buying, selling or transporting ivory in the United Kingdom.
Antique dealers, piano makers and numerous other trades used or dealt in ivory with relatively little legal oversight, but as the scale of elephant poaching became better understood, that position began to change.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, better known as CITES, was agreed in 1973 and entered into force in 1975, with the United Kingdom ratifying the Convention in 1976. Protection for elephants developed in stages: the Asian elephant was included in CITES Appendix I in 1975, while the African elephant was subsequently listed in Appendix III in 1976 and Appendix II in 1977, allowing international trade to continue under controls.
In the UK and later through European wildlife-trade legislation, provisions existed under which genuinely historic or pre-Convention ivory could continue to be traded in certain circumstances. These arrangements were intended to distinguish legitimate historic objects from newly obtained ivory, although the existence of a lawful market also created opportunities for illegally obtained material to enter apparently legitimate trade disguised as older or otherwise lawful ivory.
By the late 1980s, the consequences had become impossible to ignore. Africa's elephant population had fallen from an estimated 1.3 million in 1979 to around 600,000 by 1988, while contemporary estimates cited in Parliament suggested that as much as 94% of ivory being sold legally with CITES permits had originated from poached elephants. What had been intended as a regulated international trade had proved dangerously vulnerable to abuse.
International restrictions consequently tightened substantially. The United States passed the African Elephant Conservation Act in 1988, and in 1989 the United Kingdom supported stronger international restrictions on the ivory trade. Most African elephant populations were subsequently transferred to CITES Appendix I, subject to later changes affecting certain southern African populations.
Restrictions on international trade did not, however, eliminate the problem. Domestic markets in older ivory could still provide opportunities for more recently obtained material to be misrepresented and sold, which ultimately contributed to a much more restrictive approach in the United Kingdom.
A major turning point came with the Ivory Act 2018, which was designed not merely to prohibit obviously modern ivory, but to restrict the legal market itself, reduce commercial demand and close opportunities through which recently poached ivory could be passed off as older material.
After delays and legal challenges, its principal provisions came into force on 6 June 2022.
On 28 January 2025, the scope of the Act was extended beyond elephant ivory to ivory from four additional species, bringing the total number covered to five:
Elephant - Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus
Narwhal - Monodon monoceros
Killer whale (orca) - Orcinus orca
Common/River hippopotamus - Hippopotamus amphibius
Sperm whale - Physeter macrocephalus
The resulting legislation places extensive restrictions upon commercial dealing in ivory while generally permitting continued ownership of existing objects. For owners of historic pianos, however, Parliament made specific provision for musical instruments containing comparatively small quantities of the material.
The Musical-Instrument Exemption
The Ivory Act recognises that historic musical instruments present a particular case, since many instruments made before modern synthetic materials became standard contain small quantities of ivory as functional components.
On a piano, this is usually confined to the thin veneers covering the natural keys, and the value of the instrument ordinarily lies in the piano itself rather than in the ivory it contains.
The Act therefore provides a specific exemption under which qualifying historic musical instruments may continue to be legally bought, sold or hired despite containing ivory.
For most historic ivory-keyed pianos, this is the exemption that makes a lawful sale possible.
To qualify, all three statutory conditions must be satisfied:
The piano must be a pre-1975 musical instrument. This means that it was made before 1 January 1975, subject to a specific provision concerning certain ivory subsequently added during restoration.
The ivory must comprise less than 20% of the total volume of material from which the piano is made. The test concerns volume, not weight, value or surface area. On a conventional piano, where the ivory consists principally of thin veneers covering the natural keys, the proportion will ordinarily be comfortably below this threshold.
The piano must be registered under the Ivory Act before it is dealt in.
Registration is itself part of the exemption. A piano is not exempt for the purposes of a sale simply because it is old enough and contains sufficiently little ivory.
The Act defines dealing broadly to include buying, selling or hiring an ivory item, offering or arranging to buy, sell or hire it, keeping it for sale or hire, and importing or exporting it for sale or hire. Importantly for private sellers, an offer includes advertising, which means that a qualifying piano must be registered before it is advertised or otherwise offered for sale or hire.
For a seller, the sequence is simple:
QUALIFY → REGISTER → ADVERTISE → SELL
If You Own an Ivory-Keyed Piano
It is legal to own and play a piano with ivory keys.
The Ivory Act does not prohibit private ownership or use merely because an instrument contains ivory, so an owner who intends simply to keep and use a piano does not need to register it.
A piano may also be given away as a genuine gift, left to somebody in a will, or lent without payment, exchange or barter without registration merely for that purpose. A genuine gift must, however, involve no valuable consideration; if money, goods, services, a discount or something else of value is received in return, the arrangement may amount to dealing under the Act.
If You Want to Sell
Before advertising or otherwise offering an ivory-keyed piano for sale, the owner must establish that it qualifies for the musical-instrument exemption and complete its registration.
Once registered, the owner receives a unique reference number which should be retained and made available to prospective buyers so that they can check the exemption before purchasing the piano.
Private sellers are subject to the same legislation as businesses, irrespective of whether the piano is offered through a specialist dealer, an auction house, a classified advertisement, social media or an online marketplace.
Register first. Advertise second.
If You Want to Buy
Responsibility does not rest solely with the seller. An item containing ivory covered by the Act must not be bought unless it is registered or certified as exempt, and government guidance also tells prospective buyers to check that the item meets the conditions of the exemption being claimed.
A prospective buyer should ask for the registration reference and check that the information corresponds with the piano being offered. Relevant details can include the description of the instrument, photographs, the location of the ivory, distinguishing features and its serial number.
The seller can provide copies of information and supporting evidence associated with the registration, while a prospective buyer can also contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency with the reference number to request information and photographs associated with it.
A registration reference should not be mistaken for independent government authentication of the piano. Standard registration is based upon information supplied by the person registering the item, who remains responsible for its accuracy.
Check before you buy.
After You Buy
A standard registration does not permanently follow a piano from owner to owner. When ownership changes following a sale under a standard exemption, the registration used for that transaction ceases to be valid and the new owner must notify the Animal and Plant Health Agency of the change of ownership, providing the relevant reference and their details. There is currently no fee for doing so.
This notification does not transfer the seller's standard registration into the buyer's name. If the new owner later decides to sell or hire out the piano, a fresh registration must be made before it is offered.
Compliance and Enforcement
The Ivory Act is actively enforced, with APHA checking registrations, investigating suspected breaches and cancelling registrations that do not meet the requirements of the Act.
Enforcement can include stop notices, formal undertakings and financial penalties of up to £250,000, while serious offences can result in prosecution carrying up to five years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.
At Sykes & Sons, we take compliance seriously. We regularly advise other UK piano workshops on the legislation and have provided specialist assistance to the authorities in cases involving suspected piano-related offences.
How to Tell the Difference Between Ivory Piano Keys and Synthetic Materials
Identifying an ivory keyboard is not always as straightforward as it first appears, particularly where an historic keyboard has undergone repairs during its life and may contain original ivory, early synthetic materials, later replacements or even a mixture of different coverings. No single characteristic should therefore be treated as conclusive in isolation.
Look at the Surface
As a natural material, ivory can show subtle variations in grain, colour and texture from one piece to another. Characteristic structures known as Schreger lines can be visible in elephant ivory, although their appearance depends upon the direction in which the tusk was cut and, on the thin veneers used for piano keys, they may be faint, incomplete or not readily visible at all.
Their absence is therefore not proof that a key covering is synthetic. Synthetic coverings tend to be more uniform, although some early materials were deliberately manufactured to imitate the appearance of natural ivory.
Look at the Construction
Traditional ivory-covered natural keys were commonly made using separate pieces for the head, covering the broad playing surface, and the tail, extending behind it, leaving a fine transverse joint that can often still be seen between the two.
Many later synthetic keytops were manufactured as a single piece and have no such joint. This can provide a useful indication, although keyboard construction varied and individual coverings may have been replaced during the life of an instrument, so it should not be treated as proof in isolation.
Look for Natural Variation
Original ivory seldom presents the absolute uniformity associated with a new synthetic keyboard. Age, handling, exposure to light, previous cleaning and environmental conditions can all affect its appearance, meaning that adjacent veneers may differ subtly in colour, surface or translucency.
Synthetic materials can also discolour, shrink or craze with age, however, which makes colour alone a poor basis upon which to identify a material.
Consider the Piano as a Whole
The age and manufacture of the piano can provide valuable context, and a keyboard is best considered as part of the instrument to which it belongs. Its date, maker, construction and evidence of previous work can all help to establish whether the surviving coverings are likely to be original.
Informed examination of the keyboard in the context of the piano will generally tell us considerably more than any supposed single test.
Ethical Alternatives and Restoration at Sykes & Sons
While ivory was once considered the gold standard for piano keys, today’s advanced materials offer the same playability without the ethical or legal concerns. Modern high-quality plastic keytops and composite surfaces have evolved far beyond early celluloid and imitation ivory.
Today’s synthetics are durable, stable, and carefully engineered to replicate the smooth feel and slight grip that discerning pianists appreciate.
At Sykes & Sons, we bring specialised expertise to both the preservation of original ivory and the installation of modern key coverings.
When restoring heritage pianos, we can stabilise and secure loose ivory veneers, fill missing sections with precisely colour-matched synthetic compounds, and expertly texture, shape, and polish each repair by hand to blend seamlessly with the surrounding ivory.
For pianos where the original ivory is too worn or damaged for cost-effective restoration, or the client wants it removed for their own reasons, we offer complete keyboard recovering. This involves meticulously removing the old key coverings, processing the key sticks (to maintain original dimensions) and fitting new, high-grade synthetic tops, which are then carefully aligned, levelled, and polished to ensure flawless touch and appearance.
Our team understands the historical and sentimental value of older instruments, as well as the need to fully comply with today’s ivory legislation. We can advise whether your piano qualifies for legal exemptions, assist with registration, and restore or re-cover your keyboard using the best modern materials and time-honoured craftsmanship.
Our Commitment to Wildlife Protection and Legal Compliance
Sykes & Sons wholeheartedly supports the restrictions placed upon the ivory trade, not simply because we are required to comply with them, but because the history of that trade demonstrates why such restrictions became necessary.
At the same time, ivory surviving on an historic piano presents an unusual conservation problem. Removing and discarding material that has formed part of an instrument for generations does nothing to restore the animal from which it came, nor does its responsible preservation create a new demand for ivory. Where the material can be lawfully retained and appropriately conserved, its continued existence as part of an historic object is entirely compatible with supporting stringent restrictions on the modern ivory trade.
Commercial demand for ivory contributed to the killing of elephants on a devastating scale, while attempts to regulate the trade proved vulnerable to abuse and allowed apparently legitimate markets to provide cover for illegally obtained material. It is this history, rather than any objection to the continued existence of historic objects, that explains the restrictive legal framework we have today.
An historic piano can therefore be appreciated for its craftsmanship while the origin of one of its materials is regretted, just as original ivory already present on that instrument can be preserved without supporting any revival of the trade that supplied it.
The musical-instrument exemption reflects precisely this distinction. A qualifying piano derives its value from its maker, design, materials, condition, history and musical qualities, with the comparatively small quantity of ivory present on its keyboard incidental to that value. The exemption consequently provides a legitimate route through which qualifying historic instruments can continue to be owned, conserved and, where appropriate, sold without creating a general commercial market for ivory.
For the piano trade, that accommodation brings a corresponding responsibility to understand the law, explain it accurately and observe it properly. The existence of an exemption should never be treated as permission for casual non-compliance simply because the ivory happens to form part of a musical instrument.
Preserving an historic piano does not require us to defend the trade that supplied its ivory. We can conserve the instrument with respect for its originality while ensuring that the trade which endangered the animal from which that material came remains firmly in the past.
This article is intended as general guidance for owners, buyers and sellers of historic pianos in the United Kingdom and does not constitute legal advice. Legislation and official guidance can change, while the international movement of ivory-containing instruments is subject to separate requirements. Where there is uncertainty, current government guidance or advice from the Animal and Plant Health Agency should be obtained before dealing in or moving the instrument.
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