For example, several government gendarmes are stationed in Fampotakely, which is highly unusual for a remote village in Madagascar that is not a county seat. Armed with machine guns and highly skeptical of a visiting reporter, the gendarmes are clearly here because of the rosewood. And yet as with the illicit moonshine production that takes place right before their eyes — several makeshift stills, each beside a giant pile of pressed sugarcane, can be seen alongside the river — the gendarmes seem to be more interested in controlling illegal activity than stopping it.
In many source countries, the most valuable rosewood has already been cut, and Madagascar is no exception. The surge of logging over the last decade has left relatively few large-diameter trees in the forest. The timber barons did a poor job managing the forests, according to Rick Hearne, a U. Some of the [stockpiled] logs were only four to five inches in diameter.
Yet the logging continues deeper and deeper into the old-growth forests of northeast Madagascar. Last year, journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project posed as rosewood buyers and were promised that 80 percent of their purchase would be freshly cut, direct from the forest. Its export would be coordinated with government officials, the seller assured them. Once a deal has been struck, a container ship parks offshore and waits for smaller boats to bring out the rosewood.
In November, six ships off northeast Madagascar were suspected of loading rosewood en route to Singapore. Groups such as Lampogno often work with international NGOs to tip off foreign authorities, and customs authorities in Singapore, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere have made large seizures of Madagascar rosewood over the past decade. But seizures very rarely lead to convictions, and as with any contraband, huge amounts of illegal wood are never seized at all.
Chen inherited the wood business from his father. Warehouses with towering stacks of logs and planks stretch as far as the eye can see — and this is only one of about 25 industrial parks in Zhangjiagang.
Wholesale wood dealer Chun Rong Chen stands with logs of a threatened rosewood species at his store in Zhangjiagang. The warehouses contain rosewood from Southeast Asia, West Africa, Madagascar, and islands in the Pacific, such as the Solomon Islands, which have recently seen feverish exploitation. Much of the wood is of illegal provenance — including anything traded since the CITES listing — but proving as much about any given log would require high-tech identification techniques and analysis to determine its age.
They seem to trust one another, and their customers. Often, the phone number is scrawled directly onto the logs in colored chalk. Back in his office, Chen sits on a dark-hued three-seater sofa — made of rosewood, of course — and discusses his business while brewing loose-leaf white tea. His clients operate furniture factories throughout China, including well-known rosewood hubs such as Xianyou and Dongyang in the southeast.
Factory, it turns out, is a misleading word. In Xianyou, craftsmen work in bare-bricked, one-room workshops that line the street. Passersby can look in and see rosewood scattered alongside power tools, and furniture in various stages of assembly. Everything is covered in wood shavings and a fine layer of red dust. Because rosewood is so hard, artisans use dowels, rather than glue and nails, to fashion it into wardrobes, beds, and dining room tables, executing the same carvings popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the former sleek and simple, the latter intricate and ostentatious.
Several hundred miles to the north, in Dongyang, there are larger manufacturers with showrooms. The Rong Ding Xuan factory is in a gated compound with two multi-story buildings and a private parking garage. Here, gleaming rosewood furniture is displayed alongside accessories.
There are silk cushions on chairs, well-pruned bonsai plants centered on dining tables, and calligraphy brushes atop study desks, so that customers can imagine what the pieces would look like at home or in the office.
Soft music and gentle lighting complete the high-end shopping experience. Owning rosewood furniture has long conveyed a certain status, if not always a desirable one. During the Cultural Revolution that began in , it sent exactly the wrong message. The close proximity of the trees force rapid vertical growth and help identify dominant trees; trees that grow faster and taller than the others.
In year 10, smaller trees are thinned from the plantation and sold for revenue even though these trees are small about 6 inches in diameter and 30 feet tall , the wood milled from these immature trees would be worth a small fortune.
The dominant trees are left to grow and build valuable trunk diameter. Partner with us to grow this tree in the States. We are currently pooling investor funds to build Rosewood plantations in Florida and Arizona. Project lands will be parceled to individual partners to create a secured asset with and provide an exit strategy.
These are considered true rosewoods. Today, inferior tree species that resemble this wood are passed off as true rosewood.
The tree is prized for its dark red heartwood. Rosewood is a tropical hardwood with a tight, even grain. The wood is heavy and hard, but relatively easy to work with.
It has has a strong sweet smell, which persists over many years, even in furniture that may be hundreds of years old. Amazingly, just scratching or refinishing antique furniture will release the smell of roses.
The wood is used primarily for musical instrument and furniture inlays. This also has a very distinctive figure; very dark purple-brown in colour, it is distinguished by its very fine dense grain, and the narrow parallel striped figure.
Both forms polish to a beautiful smooth shine. Next Post Next Birdcage tables. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn. Posted in Antique Furniture Leave a comment.
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