A gold toilet that fetched $12.1m (£9.3m) at auction was bought by Ripley's Believe It or Not!, after its first casting was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. 'America', created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, is a fully functional toilet made from more than 15st 13lb (101.2kg) of solid 18-carat gold.
The first version of the work was installed in a public bathroom at the Guggenheim museum in New York in 2016 but hit the news again three years later when a gang of thieves stole it from the Oxfordshire palace. The existence of a second golden toilet was later revealed, and went under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York City on Tuesday. The toilet received just one bid.
The auction house stated the starting bid would be determined by the gold's market value, set at approximately $10m (£7.6m). Ripley's subsequently identified itself as the mysterious buyer via an Instagram post, expressing their joy with the statement: 'we're flush with excitement'.
The entertainment company operates various attractions, including museums of oddities and aquariums worldwide. After the purchase, they expressed interest in potentially allowing guests to 'take the ultimate golden seat', stating that doing so would require careful planning.
This artwork has achieved the second-highest auction price for a piece by Cattelan, following his controversial sculpture of a kneeling Hitler that sold for $17.2m (£11.9m) in 2016. The golden toilet continues to be a focal point in discussions about art’s relationship with value and consumer culture, drawing attention for both its extravagant nature and the intriguing backstory surrounding its theft and eventual sale.
The first version of the work was installed in a public bathroom at the Guggenheim museum in New York in 2016 but hit the news again three years later when a gang of thieves stole it from the Oxfordshire palace. The existence of a second golden toilet was later revealed, and went under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York City on Tuesday. The toilet received just one bid.
The auction house stated the starting bid would be determined by the gold's market value, set at approximately $10m (£7.6m). Ripley's subsequently identified itself as the mysterious buyer via an Instagram post, expressing their joy with the statement: 'we're flush with excitement'.
The entertainment company operates various attractions, including museums of oddities and aquariums worldwide. After the purchase, they expressed interest in potentially allowing guests to 'take the ultimate golden seat', stating that doing so would require careful planning.
This artwork has achieved the second-highest auction price for a piece by Cattelan, following his controversial sculpture of a kneeling Hitler that sold for $17.2m (£11.9m) in 2016. The golden toilet continues to be a focal point in discussions about art’s relationship with value and consumer culture, drawing attention for both its extravagant nature and the intriguing backstory surrounding its theft and eventual sale.
