The Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands has unveiled a new exhibit featuring a nearly 200-year-old condom with erotic artwork. The prophylactic, believed to be made around 1830 from a sheep’s appendix, depicts a nun and three clergymen in an erotic scene. The phrase “This is my choice” is written on the sheath in French, which the museum says is a reference to the Renoir painting “The Judgment of Paris.” According to the museum, acquiring the condom has allowed them to focus on 19th-century sexuality and prostitution, a subject underrepresented in their collection. The museum states the condom “embodies both the lighter and darker sides of sexual health” during a time when the pursuit of pleasure was fraught with fears of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The exhibit will be on display until the end of November. (newser)
