HANDBOOK OP THE COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 11 



by the Egyptians, Assyrians, Jews, Etrurians, Greeks, and Komans. 

 It is interesting to note that a pair of cymbals were found in the 

 coffin inclosing the mummy of Ankhape, a sacred musician of ancient 

 Egypt. 



In the earlier books of the Old Testament cymbals are frequently 

 mentioned among the musical instruments used in the temple. Dr. 

 I. M. Casanowicz, Assistant Curator, Division of Old World Arche- 

 ology, United States National Museum, says that : 



The cymbals were of two kinds. One consisted of two large plates of 

 metal with wide flat rims, and were played by being strapped to the hands 

 and clashed together. The others were conical, or cuplike, with thin edges, 

 and were played by bringing down the one sharply on the other while held 

 stationary, eliciting a high-pitched note. 3 



Turkish cymbals are considered of the finest quality, and the 

 collection includes such a pair (72878) obtained from J. Howard 

 Foote in 1883. These were made in Constantinople and are 12^2 

 inches in diameter. A pair of Chinese cymbals of about the same 

 size are of bronze (94857), and examples of Chinese cymbals of 

 hammered bell metal are shown as 54018 and 94852 (pi. 1/). The 

 Burmese cymbals (95486) are of heavy hammered bell metal in 

 the shape of a disk with bossed center. A smaller pair from Korea 

 (95208) are of bronze, turned inside and outside, and having the 

 outer surface polished. A small pair of Burmese cymbals are 

 95486 (pi. 16). 



A curious pair of iron cymbals (125560) is from the Soudan. 

 Each consists of two disks connected by a broad crossbar. The 

 Spanish cymbals with red tassels 95563 (pi. la), were collected by 

 Dr. Walter Hough of the United States National Museum. 



CASTANETS 



The castanet is commonly associated with pleasure and picturesque 

 dancing, as the cymbal is associated with pomp and dignity. The 

 name is Spanish and originated, it is supposed, from the fact that 

 castanets were made from the wood of the chestnut tree, " Castana." 

 The materials include wood, shell, brass, bronze, and iron. Casta- 

 nets, like cymbals, are played in pairs, but they differ from cymbals 

 in being so small that a player holds one pair in each hand. Accord- 

 ing to Mahillon, the Spanish dancers use two sizes, a treble and a 

 bass. "The smaller pair, which they call the female, is held in the 

 right hand and used to mark the rhythm. The larger, which they 

 call the male, is held in the left hand and marks the fundamental 

 notes." 



There are many shapes of castanets. Two common types are (1) 

 small disks of wood or metal having a boss at their centers, the 



2 AnDual Report, Smithsonian Institution, 1922, p. 487. 



