7 days ago
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.'
