The Rijksmuseum has used techniques including neutron tomography to shed fresh light on 75 treasures dating back millennia

A small Buddhist object sits quietly, its three-headed masculine figure locked in tantric union with a feminine one. But the nitty gritty of their enlightened sexual activity isn’t the only thing that this 15th-century Tibetan bronze is hiding.

The 32cm-high object is full of tiny scrolls and sacred objects – revealed only when the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam used hi-tech imaging to peer inside. They may have been around for millennia but Asian bronzes still have secrets to reveal, and this is the message of the Rijksmuseum’s latest exhibition.