200-year-old condom with erotic art goes on display in Amsterdam

A condom, made in around 1830 from a sheep’s appendix, is displayed at a museum in Netherlands and merges art with Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District.

The Netherlands’ national museum has a new object on display that merges art with Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District — a nearly 200-year-old condom, emblazoned with erotic art. The Rijksmuseum said in a statement that the playful prophylactic, believed to be made around 1830 from a sheep’s appendix, “depicts both the playful and the serious side of sexual health”.

The artefact was bought for €1,000 (nearly ₹1 lakh INR) at an auction in Haarlem last November and is now the centrepiece of the ongoing exhibition in the Netherlands. (Photo: Kelly Schenk/Rijksmuseum via AP)

This artefact is part of an exhibition titled Safe Sex? that showcases 19th century sex work. The condom, possibly a souvenir from a brothel, is decorated with an erotic image of a nun and three clergymen.

The condom is on display at The Netherlands’ national museum until the end of November. (Photo: Kelly Schenk/ AP)

The phrase ‘This is my choice’ is written along the sheath in French. According to the museum, it is a reference to the Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting The Judgment of Paris, which depicts the Trojan prince Paris judging a beauty contest between three goddesses.

The condom is on display until the end of November.

For more, follow HTCity Delhi Junction