200-year-old condom featuring erotic drawing of a semi-naked nun and three clergymen goes on display at Dutch museum
The Netherlands ' national museum is putting a 200-year-old condom that features erotic art of a semi-naked nun and three clergymen on display.
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 20cm (7.8in) and 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 itself depicts a Greek myth in which a Trojan prince is asked to judge a beauty contest between three goddesses.
Rijksmuseum curator Joyce Zelen said the allusion to Greek mythology suggested that the owner of the prophylactic would've been a high-ranking member of society at the time.
She said: 'We believe that whoever acquired the condom would have been fairly sophisticated and well-educated.'
The piece was purchased for €1,000 (£840) at an auction in Haarlem last November, and will be put on display until the end of November as part of an exhibition that features Dutch and French prints and drawings on the themes of sex work and sexual health.
Before 1839, the year vulcanised rubber was invented, condoms were typically made from linen, animal membranes or, in some case, turtle shells.
But they were ineffective, doing little to provide protection against the spread of sexually transmitted diseases or the prevention of pregnancy.
Zelen added: 'In the 1830s, when this condom was made, the use of condoms was still frowned upon, especially by the church.
'They were mostly sold under the counter at brothels or barber shops, though there are some reports of luxury shops offering bespoke tailoring.'
The possible souvenir is believed to have never been used, Zelen said, after the museum looked at it under UV light.
She added: 'It's also unclear whether the nun in the etching is pointing at the bald man, the thin man, or the one who looks slightly overweight. That way, any type of man could feel spoken to.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Study finds deceptively simple solution to attractiveness beats botox
Botox promises smoother, wrinkle free skin and a fresher face, but researchers have found there is a much cheaper option if looking more attractive is the aim - simply smiling. Researchers found injectable treatments such as dermal fillers and Botox boosted the participants perceived attractiveness by 0.07 points on a seven points scale. That means if someone was rated a four out of seven on attractiveness before the treatment might have been rated a 4.07 out of seven afterwards. However, there were far simpler methods that did not involve a needle that reaped even greater rewards. Simply smiling rather than sitting with a blank expression improved perceived attractiveness by about 0.4 points out of seven – that's six times greater than the effects of Botox. Make-up also offered an even greater attractiveness boost of about 0.6 points. Botox is the brand name for botulinum toxin an injectable prescription medication that's used to temporarily block nerve signals to muscles causing them to relax, and as a result, smooth out wrinkles. But prices for the treatment start at around £300- making make-up a far cheaper option if you are looking to make yourself appear more attractive. The study, conducted by researchers in the Netherlands and published in the journal Perception, followed 114 people who underwent Botox and dermal filler treatments. More than 3,000 judges marked their changes in appearance from before and after photographs. They judged attractiveness and other character traits including how intelligent they were, charismatic, healthy, friendly or trustworthy just from looks. Although Botox did not boost a person's perceived intelligence or health, it did boost how youthful people were perceived to be by 0.13 points. There was also a small but statistically significant boost of 0.09 points for how desirable people were seen to be for a short romantic fling. Similarly, Botox gave a 0.09-point increase for platonic likability. But when it came to how desirable people were perceived to be as a potential long-term partner there was no statistically significant improvement. 'Our results suggest that a single session of minimally invasive facial aesthetic treatment leads to more positive perceptions on dimensions related to attractiveness, but these effects are relatively small,' study authors said. But researchers also suggested that people seek out treatments such as Botox to 'improve feelings of self-worth, confidence, and happiness' rather than their attractiveness. Bastian Jaeger of Tilburg University, who led the research told the Times: 'It is plausible that people have more success socially, not because they look different and people treat them differently, but because they think they do and act more confidently around others — a sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.'
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Horrific reaction to popular cosmetic tweak leaves woman, 24, looking like a Bratz doll
A young woman has warned against 'overdoing' lip fillers to the point they need to get the substance dissolved—after a procedure to reverse her filler resulted in disfiguring swelling that left her looking 'like a Bratz doll'. Kimia Awazi, 24, from the Netherlands, had been regularly receiving injections of filler in her lips and nose since she was just 18-years-old. However, when she began to notice the gel-like substance, called hyaluronic acid, migrate and cause problems with her speech, the marketing assistant decided to start afresh and undergo a dissolving procedure. This involves jabs of an enzyme called hyaluronidase, which speeds up the natural dissolving process. For most people, the swelling that occurs after the procedure can make lips appear fuller for a short period of time. But just minutes after leaving the clinic in March 2024, the marketing assistant's lips began to swell uncontrollably due to a severe allergic reaction triggered by an excess of the dissolvent. She said: 'I spent years dissolving and refilling but it was just a waste of time and money.' Ms Awazi claimed that the practitioner injected 3ml of dissolving agent, instead of the standard 1ml, which triggered the severe reaction. 'I was just watching my lips get bigger every minute. It was funny at first but also terrifying,' she said. 'I felt like they were going to explode.' Her lips began to puff up as soon as she left the clinic, ballooning so large they resembled that of a popular 'Bratz' figurine. The severe reaction lasted for around 24 hours, for which time Ms Awazi struggled to talk, eat, and drink properly. The swelling eventually came down on its own without medical intervention. 'I always told myself not to go somewhere cheaper, just to save money and this time I didn't listen', Ms Awazi explained. 'It wasn't worth it. Just because somewhere is popular doesn't mean it's right for you.' After a six-month break from cosmetic tweaks, Ms Awazi eventually returned to lip filler, but says her limit is 0.5ml. 'Now I'm much more cautious. I'm happy with how my lips look, and I'm sticking with what I know works. 'Don't risk your face just because it's trending or cheaper.' Experts have long raised the concern over filler migrating and sticking around in areas of the face rather than dissolving naturally. Research suggests that injecting too much filler or contaminated filler can lead to granulomas, a tiny cluster of white blood cells that form in the body's tissue, which can cause lumps. Lip filler dissolvent has also been shown to destroy healthy tissue and result in deformities. If carried out by a well-qualified injector, the procedure is safe and effective. But in the wrong hands, both lips fillers and the jabs given to remove them, can leave patients permanently disfigured, cosmetic doctors told The Mail on Sunday. This comes as experts have raised the alarm over a little-known side effect of lip filler injections. According to researchers from Harvard University, the injections can trigger potentially deadly inflammation in the kidneys, which has so far been linked to three deaths. They predict more people may be suffering the problem than previously estimated, with symptoms going under the radar. Dr Agustin Posso, who presented the study, said the 'alarming' number of 'unlicensed or unknown practitioners' carrying out filler procedures dramatically raises this risk of kidney issues. 'This underscores the need for stringent regulations and education to ensure that cosmetic interventions are performed by qualified professionals,' he added. The researchers found the most common reported kidney-related complication, after having filler injected, was chronic kidney disease, affecting over half of the patients in the study. The incurable condition means the kidneys have lost their ability to filter waste products from the blood, leading to a buildup of toxins and other substances in the body and can leave sufferers with issues emptying the bladder. At an advanced stage, patients must undergo dialysis — a blood-cleaning treatment which requires several trips to hospital every week, with each session lasting hours.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
A 200-year-old condom with an erotic etching of a NUN and cheeky three-word French message revealed
A RARE condom with erotic etchings of a nun from almost 200-years ago has gone on display for all to see. Drawings on the ancient contraceptive show a nun partially undressed pointing at the erect genitals of three clergymen alongside a three word message in French. 3 3 It says "Voila, mon choix" which means "There, that's my choice" or "This is my choice". This appears to be a reference to a painting called The Judgment of Paris, which shows the Trojan prince Paris judging a beauty contest between three goddesses. The condom is thought to be a souvenir from a posh Parisian brothel dating back to 1830. This era was fraught with fears of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases - especially syphilis. Experts say its owner would have been "fairly sophisticated and well-educated". "In the 1830s, when this condom was made, the use of condoms was still frowned upon, especially by the church," explained Joyce Zelen, curator at the Rijksmuseum where the condom is on display. "They were mostly sold under the counter at brothels or barber shops, though there are some reports of luxury shops offering bespoke tailoring." The condom measures at a generous 20cm in length. But it was inspected with a UV light and not thought to have been used. Unlike today's latex condoms, it's believed this early version is made from a sheep's appendix. The museum bought the piece for €1,000 (£840) at an auction in Haarlem last November. It's now part of an exhibition about 19th century sex work. A bald man, a thin man and a slightly overweight one can be made out on the drawing, experts say. But it's unclear who the nun is pointing at. "That way, any type of man could feel spoken to," Zelen added.
