Maurizio Cattelan’s golden “America,” an 18 karat gold fully functioning toilet, is the twin of the infamous piece that was stolen and never recovered. It too has seen it all, from praise and ridicule to public obsession, and now finally it is hitting the auction block. The art world has enough space for all absurdity, they did manage to sell his duct taped banana for $6 million. This chunk of gold certainly has bright chances to surpass the value of $10 million though the final estimate will depend on the gold rate.
For context, the golden toilet weighs a solid 223 pounds of gold. Not only is gold sought after today, Cattelan’s artwork is just as valued and Sotheby’s is betting it can auction off the golden bowl for even more next month on Nov. 18. But those who want to see it in the flesh before they can take it home and flush, the masterpiece is on display from November 8, installed in a bathroom at the Breuer Building which is Sotheby’s new headquarters. Unfortunately the chance of actually relieving yourself on this precious potty is long gone. It was permitted in the past but there will be no sitting upon the throne this time around.
“We do not want people sitting on the art,” said Sotheby’s expert David Galperin. The artist initially intended to create five matching versions of his toilet. The first version of the Maurizio Cattelan golden toilet sculpture was stolen in 2019 from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. A gang of seven broke into Blenheim Palace at the break of dawn and ripped the solid gold fully functioning toilet out of the ground. Several arrests followed and nearly four years later two of the thieves were convicted. The piece was never recovered as thieves likely melted it down and resold it according to authorities. Now all eyes are on the twin of the gilded standard Kohler that could possibly dethrone Cattelan’s auction record of $17.2 million, which was set by his 2001 work Him.
The golden “America” toilet will be offered by Sotheby’s in New York as part of its Contemporary Evening Auction on November 18.
