THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 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.”
It is part of an exhibition called “Safe Sex?” about 19th-century sex work that opened on Tuesday.
The condom, possibly a souvenir from a brothel, is decorated with an erotic image of a nun and three clergymen.
The phrase “This is my choice” is written along the sheath in French. According to the museum, this 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.
