GUT INSTINCT! 200-year-old sheep intestine condom goes on show

Perth Now

04-06-2025

A 200-year-old condom etched with a cheeky image of a nun ogling three excited priests has gone on display at one of the world's most prestigious art museums.
The hand-stitched sheath - believed to be made of sheep gut - was likely a saucy souvenir from a high-end French brothel and is now proudly featured at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The print on the ancient Johnny shows a seated nun with her legs spread as she eyes up three very aroused clerics who are flashing their bits under flowing robes.
The nun points at one and says: "Voilà mon choix" - French for "This is my choice".
Joyce Zelen, curator of print art at the Dutch museum, said the naughty number dated back to around 1830 and was more likely bought for laughs than used for action.
She said: "We suspect it was more of a luxury brothel souvenir than an actual condom for use."
The racy relic cost €1,000 (£844) and is one of only two known examples left in the world.
Zelen added to the Het Parool newspaper: "Erotic art is one of my favourite areas of research. And now we had come to the point where we had to ask the boss if we could bid on a condom.
"We even had to add the object name 'condom' to our collection's database, which did not exist yet."
Back in the day - long before Durex and latex - lovers got frisky with whatever they could find, from fish bladders to linen sacks. Rubber condoms didn't exist until 1839, after the discovery of vulcanised rubber.
Museum bosses say the ancient sheath is also a window into a darker past of 19th-century sexual health, when the threat of unwanted pregnancy and syphilis loomed large.
In a statement, they said: "It embodies both the lighter and darker sides of sexual health."
The well-hung exhibit is now on show in the museum's print room as part of a new display exploring prostitution and sexuality in the 1800s, running until the end of November.