It is a rather unusual object that was stolen from Blenheim Palace this Saturday: a solid gold toilet by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. The theft also caused major plumbing damage in this imposing Baroque castle in southern England, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Baptized America, the 18 carat gold work includes operational seat, bowl and flush. It had been on display, among other works by the artist, since Thursday in the 18th century palace in Oxfordshire.
The thieves “broke into the palace during the night and left the premises around 4:50 a.m.,” local police said in a statement. She believes the perpetrators used “at least two vehicles” to commit their misdeed. “As the toilet was connected to the plumbing of the building, it caused significant damage and flooding,” said Inspector Jesse Milne. A 66-year-old man has been arrested, but the precious lavatory has not yet been found.
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The work America had been exhibited for the first time at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where it had been used by some 100,000 people between September 2016 and the summer of 2017. Maurizio Cattelan had presented it as an egalitarian work, “of the art of the 1% (including the richest people on the planet) for the other 99 percent”.
Blenheim Palace, which was closed to the public on Saturday, was designed by British architect John Vanbrugh. The home of the 12th Duke of Marlborough is also the birthplace of British statesman Winston Churchill.
