Overview

• The 20 cm-long sheath is made from sheep’s appendix and bears an erotic etching of a nun pointing at three clergymen beneath the inscription “Voilà mon choix.”
• Acquired at a Haarlem auction for €1,000 with support from the F. G. Waller-Fonds, it is the first condom to join the museum’s print collection.
• UV testing has revealed it remains in mint condition, indicating it was created as a brothel souvenir rather than a practical contraceptive.
• One of only two known surviving 19th-century condoms with printed erotic imagery, it sheds light on early condom materials and period attitudes toward sexual health.
• On display in the Rijksmuseum’s Print Room through November 2025, it anchors the “Safe Sex?” exhibition on 19th-century sex work and sexuality.