The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is now displaying a 200-year-old condom likely made from a sheep’s appendix and featuring an erotic print.
Now on view in the institution, the condom from around 1830 features an erotic etching depicting a nun and three clergymen.
The nun is seated with her legs apart while pointing at one of the clergymen, all of whom are holding up their robes and displaying their genitals.
The inscription, “Voilà mon choix”, translates to, ‘This is my choice’.
Per a press release, the condom is thought to have been a souvenir from a brothel and offers an insight into sexuality and sex work in the 19th century.
“It embodies both the lighter and darker sides of sexual health, in an era when the quest for sensual pleasure was fraught with fears of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases – especially syphilis,” the museum said.
The condom is part of a display on 19th-century sex work and sexuality that includes several prints, drawings and photographs.
Artefact on view in ‘Safe Sex?’ exhibition
The exhibition, called ‘Safe Sex?’, is open until the end of November.
Via the Guardian, Rijksmuseum curator Joyce Zelen said the etching alluded to the Greek myth of the Judgment of Paris, in which a Trojan prince is asked to select the most beautiful of three goddesses.
“So we believe that whoever acquired the condom would have been fairly sophisticated and well-educated,” she told the publication.
Zelen added: “In the 1830s, when this condom was made, the use of condoms was still frowned upon, especially by the church.
“They were mostly sold under the counter at brothels or barber shops, though there are some reports of luxury shops offering bespoke tailoring.”
The Rijksmuseum is the Netherlands’ national art museum and its largest museum.
Dedicated to Dutch art and history, it houses a collection of 1.1 million objects spanning 800 years.
Images courtesy of Rijksmuseum
