On display until November, the provocative artifact merges sexual health with historical art.
The Netherlands’ Rijksmuseum has unveiled a unique historical artifact: a nearly 200-year-old condom adorned with erotic art. Believed to date back to around 1830 and crafted from a sheep’s appendix, the item is part of a new exhibition titled Safe Sex?, exploring 19th-century sex work.
According to the museum, the condom “depicts both the playful and the serious side of sexual health.” Thought to be a brothel souvenir, it features an erotic scene with a nun and three clergymen, along with the French phrase “This is my choice.” The museum notes this references Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s The Judgment of Paris. The exhibition opened Tuesday and runs until the end of November.