200-year-old sheep appendix condom: It didn't work, but you can see at a sex exhibition

A 200-year-old condom is being put on display at a Netherlands museum. The exhibition is called "Safe Sex?" and is based on 19th-century sex work. The condom is unlike anything we see today, and carries an erotic depiction and even a phrase alluding to free will to have sex. It is believed to have once been owned by a high-ranking member of society. However, it was never used. The condom was bought for $1,135 at an auction in Haarlem last November.

The Rijksmuseum said in a statement that the condom was made from a sheep's appendix in 1830. It also carries an erotic illustration of a semi-naked nun and three clergymen. According to the museum, the condom "depicts both the playful and the serious side of sexual health."

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The phrase "This is my choice" is written on it in French, which, according to the museum, is a reference to the Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting "The Judgment of Paris". The latter is about a Greek myth about a Trojan prince who judged a beauty contest between three goddesses.

Rijksmuseum curator Joyce Zelen thinks that this hints at the likelihood that the condom was owned by a high-ranking member.

What were condoms made of in the 1800s?

There was a time when condoms were made from animal products, like membranes, appendix and even turtle shells. This was before 1839, when vulcanised rubber hadn't been invented.

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However, they didn't work as sexually transmitted diseases continued to spread, and women got pregnant.

Condoms were taboo

Zelen says that society didn't publicly accept condoms during those times. When this particular condom was made, the method of contraception wasn't favoured by the church either. You could not get them easily, and they were sold under the counter at brothels or barber shops. She added that "there are some reports of luxury shops offering bespoke tailoring."

The museum checked the condom under UV light to see if it had been used. It seems it wasn't.

Visitors will be able to see the condom on display at the museum until November this year. Dutch and French prints and drawings on the themes of sex work and sexual health can be seen at the exhibition.