Summary
Ripley's Believe It or Not! bought a golden toilet for $12.1 million at a Sotheby's auction. The toilet, called "America," is made of solid gold and was created by artist Maurizio Cattelan. Ripley's announced their purchase after its previous version was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019.
Key Facts
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! bought the golden toilet for $12.1 million at a Sotheby's auction.
- The artwork, named "America," is a functioning toilet made of 18-carat gold, weighing about 101 kg.
- Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created the toilet, first displayed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016.
- A previous casting of the toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019 by a group of thieves.
- Ripley's, known for their museums of oddities, revealed their purchase in an Instagram post.
- The auction offered the toilet starting at the gold's weight value, approximately $10 million.
- Two men were jailed earlier in 2024 for the theft of the first version of the golden toilet.