200-year-old condom etched with erotic art makes museum debut

Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum has unveiled a unique addition to its collection: a condom dating back almost 200 years, adorned with erotic art that reflects the city's Red Light District history.

The Rijksmuseum described the condom, thought to be crafted around 1830 from a sheep's appendix, as a depiction of "both the playful and the serious side of sexual health."

The unusual artefact is showcased in the "Safe Sex?" exhibition, which opened on Tuesday and explores the realities of 19th-century sex work. The condom, potentially a souvenir from a brothel, features an erotic image of a nun and three clergymen.

open image in gallery

The phrase “This is my choice” is written along the sheath in French. According to the museum, this is a reference to “The Judgment of Paris,” a story from Greek mythology where the Trojan prince Paris judges a beauty contest between three goddesses.

The museum said: “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 diseases – especially syphilis.”

The condom is on display until the end of November.