Ripley’s revealed as buyer of $12m golden toilet
Sotheby’sThe gold toilet, which fetched $12.1 million (£9.3 million) at auction, was sold in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! after its first cast was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. was purchased by.
Created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, America is a fully functional toilet. 15. More than 13 lb (101.2 kg) of solid 18 carat gold.
The first version of the work was first installed in a public bathroom at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, but it was brought up once again three years later. Gang of thieves steal it from Oxfordshire palace.
The existence of a second gold toilet was later revealed and went under pressure at Sotheby’s in New York City on Tuesday. Only one offer was received for the 101 kg toilet.
In a world first, the starting bid will be set at around $10 million (£7.6 million) based on the full price of the gold weight, the auction house said.
Not only Ripley’s, a famous American brand, Believe It or Not! It is said to have been purchased by. They later revealed themselves as a mystery buyer Instagram post“We are filled with excitement,” we write.
The entertainment company operates attractions including curio museums and aquariums around the world.
It made headlines in 2022 when celebrity and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian allowed Marilyn Monroe to wear a dress at the Met Gala.
Their team now says they are “exploring the possibilities” of whether guests will be allowed to sit in the “ultimate golden seat”.
“An opportunity like this requires serious planning and someone brave enough to make sure everything flows in the right direction,” Ripley said. he added.
The work reached the second highest price for a Cattelan work at auction. his statue a kneeling Hitler It sold for $17.2 million (£11.9 million) in 2016.
While the first toilet was at the Guggenheim, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people used it before it was moved and displayed at Blenheim Palace.
He was there in the early hours of September 14, 2019. five men enteredHe ripped off his £4.8million solid gold installation and made off in a stolen Volkswagen Golf.
The robbery and subsequent trial made worldwide news.
Sotheby’sJames Sheen, 40, of Oxford, pleaded guilty in 2024 to theft and transferring criminal property. Michael Jones, 39, of Oxford, was convicted of burglary in March. Both Both were jailed earlier this year.
Fred Doe, 36, of Windsor, was also found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and received a suspended sentence.
Sotheby’s revealed that Cattelan created three toilets in 2016, with the second version displayed in a bathroom in New York’s Breuer Building until it went under the hammer.
The auction house called it a “cultural phenomenon” and a “sharp commentary on the conflict between artistic production and commodity value.”
David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s New York, called it a “tour de force” by Cattelan.
“This work, which holds up a mirror to the art world that is both famous and literal, confronts the most disturbing questions about art and the belief systems that are sacred to the institutions of the market and the museum,” he said.
A portrait of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt on the same evening Sold for $236.4 million (£179 million)This makes it the second most expensive piece ever sold at auction.
