Vintage Wooden Spanish Flamenco Castanet percussion instrument authentic Spanish flamenco castanet Set of 2 made of different type of wood Some marks, scuffs due to age and use Condition as pictured Castanets, also known as clackers or palillos, are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish,Ottoman, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Brazilian and Swiss music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar instrument called the crotalum. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks. They are traditionally made of hardwood (chestnut; Spanish: castaño),although fibreglass has become increasingly popular