A 18-carat gold toilet created by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan has been sold off by thieves in parts. This was revealed during a court trial currently taking place at the Oxford Crown Court.
The theft of this valuable artwork occurred several years ago from an exhibition at the British Blenheim Palace estate. The thieves used a sledgehammer to remove the exhibit from the display, which was set up in the palace’s restroom, owned by the Dukes of Marlborough. It was in this historic building, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that Winston Churchill was born.
The thieves needed only 5 minutes to steal the 98 kg golden toilet, which had been on display for just 2 days as part of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, known for such masterpieces as LOVE – a sculpture of a hand with the middle finger raised – or Comedian – an installation of a banana taped to a wall. However, the most expensive piece by Cattelan, in every sense, was the golden toilet titled America. It was this piece that the criminals targeted.
The insured artwork, valued at 6 million dollars, was cut into pieces by the thieves and sold for £25,632 per kilogram, which is about £3,000 less than the price of scrap gold.
Out of the four defendants, only one has so far admitted guilt.
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