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A solid gold toilet that sold for $12.1 million (£9.3 million) at auction was acquired by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!. This purchase followed the high-profile theft of the artwork’s original edition from Blenheim Palace in 2019. The piece, titled *America*, was created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan and functions as a fully operational toilet crafted from over 101 kilograms (15 stone 13 pounds) of solid 18-carat gold.
The initial iteration of *America* was first installed in a public restroom at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2016. However, it gained renewed attention in 2019 when a group of thieves stole the golden sculpture from the Oxfordshire estate. The existence of another version became known later and was subsequently auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York City. The 101 kg golden toilet attracted only one bid during the auction.
According to Sotheby’s, the auction marked a world first by setting the starting price based precisely on the current market price of gold by weight, approximately $10 million (£7.6 million). While the auction initially only confirmed the buyer as a well-known American brand, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! revealed their purchase on Instagram, commenting, “we’re flush with excitement.” The entertainment company, known for its museums of oddities and aquariums worldwide, is currently considering whether to allow visitors to experience the unique opportunity of using the golden toilet, humorously noting the need for careful planning and courage to “ensure everything keeps flowing in the right direction.”
*America* is notable for having been used by more than 100,000 people during its time at the Guggenheim before moving to Blenheim Palace. It was from this location, in the early hours of 14 September 2019, that five men forcibly entered and removed the solid gold installation, escaping in a stolen Volkswagen Golf. The daring theft and subsequent trial drew international media attention. In 2024, James Sheen, aged 40, from Oxford, pleaded guilty to burglary and transferring criminal property, while Michael Jones, 39, also from Oxford, was convicted of burglary in a separate trial held in March. Both men received prison sentences, and a third individual, Fred Doe, 36, from Windsor, was given a suspended sentence for conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
Sotheby’s disclosed that Maurizio Cattelan created three toilets in 2016. The second version, which was auctioned, had been displayed in a bathroom at New York’s Breuer Building. The auction house described this piece as a “cultural phenomenon” and a sharp commentary on the intersection between art production and commodity value. David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s New York, praised the work as Cattelan’s “tour de force,” noting that it holds a “proverbial and literal mirror to the art world” and challenges deeply held beliefs within the art market and institutions. On the same night as the auction, a portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold for $236.4 million (£179 million), becoming the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction
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