Maurizio Cattelan’s Gold Toilet Was Stolen in Just 5 Minutes
Four suspects were arrested for the robbery at Blenheim Palace in England.
The artist behind the duct-taped banana, which auctioned for over $6 million USD last November, Maurizio Cattelan, continues to make headlines in the global art sector. This time, the news centers around his gold toilet at the Blenheim Palace in England which was stolen by four male suspects. The perpetrators only took five minutes to haul it out of the institution and it was never recovered, as per ARTnews.
Entitled “America” (2016), the stolen work is a fully-functioning toilet made of 18-karat, 103 kilogram gold that was situated in the guides’ restroom. Though, visitors were allowed to view the work via booking time slots to use the toilet. The work was originally part of an exhibition alongside other conceptual objects by Cattelan back in 2019 at the 18th-century castle in Oxfordshire, England. Prior to this show, it was on view at New York’s Guggenheim Museum since September 2016. It was modeled after a traditional Kohler toilet that was made by a foundry in the artist’s native Florence, Italy.
“The burglary was carefully planned and swiftly carried out. The men, five of them it appears, drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of Blenheim Palace shortly before 5am in two stolen vehicles, an Isuzu truck and a VW Golf. All in all they spent just five minutes in the building. Clearly such an audacious raid would not have been possible without lots of preparation,” Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC said in a statement.
The alleged mastermind of the robbery is a man named Michael Jones who is currently facing trial at Oxford Crown Court. Reports reveal that he paid a visit to the palace twice before spearheading the theft. He pleaded not guilty after being charged with one count of burglary. Jones’ troupe included three other male individuals, Fred Doe and Bora Guck who were charged with one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property as well as James Sheen, a construction worker who hired Jones for a building project. All suspects denied the charges except for Sheen who pleaded guilty for taking part in the scheme. The toilet was allegedly broken up and sold as parts to a jeweler in London’s Hatton Garden as per The Art Newspaper.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that someone stole Cattelan’s 18-karat gold toilet. An earlier version of “America” was stolen back in 2019 at the Blenheim Palace.
