Introduction:
Timber plays a critical role in society, serving purposes such as fuel, furniture, perfumes, and musical instruments. Different types of wood carry varying price tags, catering to diverse human needs. Among them, African blackwood stands out as one of the most expensive woods globally.
African Blackwood's Origins and History:
Dalbergia melanoxylon is the scientific name for African blackwood, an exotic timber native to East Africa. It derives additional names like Mozambique ebony or Senegal ebony. Records indicate its usage and trade dating back to ancient Egyptian civilization, approximately 5,000 years ago.
Pharaohs and affluent families favored this wood. Notably, two of the oldest extant artifacts, found in King Menes' tomb at Abydos, are crafted from this exceptional wood.
Characteristics and Uses of African Blackwood:
African blackwood exhibits a dense, smooth, and lustrous heartwood ranging from reddish to pure black. It undergoes cutting into small billets or logs with light yellow to white sapwood. The timber is quarter-sawn to facilitate slow drying, preventing splitting.
Ancient Uses:
In ancient Egypt, artisans employed African blackwood extensively for elaborate furniture and artworks. It found utility in temple construction as wooden beams securing stones in pyramids. Additionally, it adorned tombs. In more recent times, African people have utilized it to carve everything from utensils to sculptures.
Conservation Concerns and Musical Instrument Crafting:
African blackwood is a rare species of hardwood. Its use in producing high-end musical instruments and furniture poses threats to its natural populations. Over-harvesting, poor conservation practices, and low germination rates exacerbate its endangerment.
The core wood of African blackwood often appears dark purple-brown, close to black. Its exceptional hardness and density, coupled with fine texture, render it ideal for woodwind instruments.
African blackwood serves as the preferred material for oboes and clarinets heard in concert halls globally. Its dense nature endows it with excellent resonance, resulting in melodious sounds.
Distribution and Growth Habits:
African blackwood is a typical small tree only found south of the Sahara Desert. It thrives in arid savannahs in southern and central Africa. Its exceptionally slow growth rate results in a dense, fine-grained heartwood that resonates beautifully in musical instruments.
African blackwood boasts exceptional weight and hardness, which artisans value in crafting artistic creations and musical instruments, including woodwinds and small stringed instruments. As an oily wood, it is less prone to rust formation on instruments.
Only about 9% of harvested timber qualifies for instrument production.
Historical and Contemporary Applications:
In past centuries, blackwood found use in crafting handles for European surgical tools. Exported from British, French, and German colonies in Africa, it also served to inlay furniture and decorative objects. The tree seldom exceeds 15 meters in height (averaging around 8 meters) and possesses a quirky, stunted appearance before reaching maturity at approximately 200 years. Modern-day harvesting typically occurs between 70 and 80 years of age. The trunk rarely exceeds a diameter of 30 cm, making it challenging to obtain large pieces of African blackwood.
Factors Contributing to High Cost:
African blackwood's high demand versus limited availability compounds with its uniqueness to make it one of the world's most expensive timbers. Extensive tree-planting programs aim to ensure future supply.
Besides its slow growth, African blackwood proves exceptionally difficult to work with, further inflating the price tag of products derived from it for several reasons. This dark-hued wood features a straight, fine grain but is so hard that it can quickly blunt cutting tools. African blackwood tends to range in color from jet black to deep purple. It possesses low decay, high heat resistance, good bending strength, and moderate resistance to insects.
A drawback is that it rarely grows straight in the manner preferred by musical instrument makers, and any flaws or splits render the material unusable. That's why only 9% of African blackwood collected qualifies for cutting into musical instruments.
Remarkably, a single 10-meter tree, at least 70 years old, yields enough wood for only about 50 clarinets.
Conservation Status and High Demand:
African blackwood's high price stems from its origin as a slow-growing species. It can take roughly 70 years to mature into a full-fledged tree.
Corresponding to increased demand, population numbers have dwindled. The IUCN classifies this species as near threatened. The threat to its survival primarily drives its high price point. African blackwood typically sells for around $14,000 per cubic meter.
Conclusion:
African blackwood offers a unique and valuable combination of stability, durability, and decay resistance. Its exceptional heat resistance adds to its desirability. The fully grown tree exhibits inherent fire resistance.