Rijksmuseum exhibiting a 200 year-old condom, likely made from sheep’s appendix
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is exhibiting a rare condom from around 1830. The almost 200-year-old contraceptive is likely made from the appendix of a sheep and features an erotic etching of a nun with three clerics. According to the Rijksmuseum, the condom is one of only two copies still known to exist and was likely a brothel souvenir.
“Acquiring the condom has enabled us to focus on 19th-century sexuality and prostitution, a subject that is underrepresented in our collection. 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 disease,” the Rijksmuseum said.
The etching shows a nun sitting with her legs spread in front of three clergymen, pointing at one of them. The men have their skirts lifted, displaying their state of sexual arousal. “The inscription Voilà mon choix, meaning ‘This is my choice’, makes the print a parody of both celibacy and the Judgement of Paris from Greek mythology.”
The Rijksmuseum exhibits the condom, bought at an auction with the support of the F.G. Waller Fonds six months ago, in a temporary presentation in the 19th-century print room. The exhibit also includes several prints, drawings, and photographs on the theme of prostitution and sexuality.
The exhibit will be in the museum from June 3 until the end of November.
