在2017年，一把由“琴弓中的斯特拉迪瓦里”弗朗索瓦·泽维尔·图尔特制造、已有200年历史的小提琴琴弓，在法国拍卖会上以创纪录的57.6万欧元（68.7万美元）成交。近代管弦乐队里普遍使用的巴西木（即巴西红木），自18世纪图尔特时代以来一直是最受青睐的制作琴弓材料。然而，巴西的原始大西洋森林——这种树的栖息地——如今面积仅为原来的八分之一，野生巴西木的数量在不到一个世纪里减少了五分之四。自2007年以来，《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（CITES）已对巴西木产品贸易进行限制。

巴西政府希望在2023年11月24日召开的CITES撒马尔罕会议上，将巴西木提升为最高保护等级列管物种，以应对非法采伐和巴西木数量锐减。此举引发了琴弓制作者和音乐家的担忧，因为一旦升级保护，任何琴弓，包括图尔特的遗作，跨境运输都需附带证明。环保人士则坚称，这些文书手续的负担，是拯救这种树种必需的代价。实际上，“多来咪行动”在2018年揭露了产业通过旧文件掩盖新砍伐行为的洗木丑闻，显示巴西木贸易仍有严重非法问题。

尽管如此，从1970年代初以来，已有约300万棵巴西木被重新种植，其中部分受到琴弓制作者的协助。栽种30至40年的新树未来可供采伐，替代即将枯竭的库存资源。文章建议，通过更好保护野生树木，并加强对现有木材与琴弓的登记跟踪，有望实现保护巴西木和持续制琴的双赢局面。

In 2017, a 200-year-old violin bow made by François Xavier Tourte, known as the “Stradivari of bowmaking,” sold for a record €576,000 ($687,000) at a French auction. Pernambuco, or brazilwood, favored since Tourte’s 18th-century innovations, remains the top material for bow-making. However, Brazil’s Atlantic forest, home to the tree, has shrunk to just one-eighth its former size, and wild brazilwood numbers have dropped by four-fifths in less than a century. Since 2007, CITES has already restricted brazilwood trade.

The Brazilian government now seeks the highest CITES protection for brazilwood at the meeting in Samarkand on November 24, 2023, responding to rampant illegal logging and severe species decline. This proposal alarms bowmakers and musicians, as it would require certification for any bow, even historic Tourte examples, to cross borders. Environmentalists insist the regulatory burden is necessary to save the species. In 2018, “Operation Do-Re-Mi” revealed large-scale laundering of newly logged brazilwood, confirming widespread ongoing illegal trade.

Nevertheless, since the early 1970s, approximately 3 million brazilwood trees have been replanted, with some help from bowmakers. Trees grown for 30-40 years could eventually supply future bow makers as existing stocks dwindle. The article suggests that stricter protection for wild trees, along with improved registration and tracking of existing wood and bows, could help save both the endangered brazilwood and the craft of bow-making.