200-year-old condom goes on display at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum
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 condom (Kelly Schenk/Rijksmuseum via AP)
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.
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