200-Year-Old Erotic Condom Goes on Display at The Netherlands' Rijksmuseum in New Exhibition on Sex Work

The Netherlands' Rijksmuseum has unveiled a rare 19th-century condom adorned with erotic artwork, merging historical artifacts with the legacy of Amsterdam’s Red Light District in a new exhibition exploring sex work and sexual health.

Believed to date back to around 1830, the condom is made from a sheep’s appendix and features a provocative design: an erotic depiction of a nun alongside three clergymen. The French phrase “C’est mon choix” (“This is my choice”) is written along the sheath, referencing The Judgment of Paris, a famous painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that portrays the Trojan prince Paris selecting the fairest among three goddesses.

Curators suggest the condom may have once been a souvenir from a brothel, symbolizing both the playful and serious dimensions of sexual health and pleasure in the 19th century. It is now one of the centerpiece objects in the museum’s new exhibition titled “Safe Sex?”, which opened Tuesday and focuses on sex work in the 1800s.

The exhibit aims to shed light on the realities of sex work in the past, highlighting how society viewed pleasure, morality, and protection. The unusual artifact will remain on public display at the Rijksmuseum through the end of November.