Solid Gold Toilet "America" Heads to Auction with $10 Million Starting Bid

Sotheby's revealed on Friday their plans to auction a unique solid gold toilet.

Available for purchase: The most valuable toilet in the world, a lavatory genuinely crafted from solid gold.

Sotheby's announced Friday the upcoming auction of this solid gold fixture, an artistic creation by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan titled "America."

The auction house describes it as a "pointed commentary on the intersection of artistic creation and monetary value." This fully functional toilet is identical to one that gained worldwide notoriety after being stolen in a bold heist from Blenheim Palace in England in 2019.

The November 18 auction in New York will start bidding at the value of the gold used in its creation - approximately 101.2 kilograms (223 pounds) - currently valued around $10 million.

David Galperin, contemporary art head at Sotheby's New York, described Cattelan as "the quintessential art world provocateur."

Cattelan ranks among the most successful contemporary artists, with works like "Comedian" (a banana attached to a wall with duct tape) selling for $6.2 million at a New York auction last year. His disturbing sculpture "Him," depicting a kneeling Adolf Hitler, fetched $17.2 million at Christie's in 2016.

The artist has stated that "America" is intended as satire on excessive wealth.

"Whether you consume a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the end result is identical, toilet-wise," he once remarked.

Two versions of "America" were produced in 2016. The one being auctioned has belonged to an anonymous collector since 2017.

The other version was exhibited in a bathroom at New York's Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors waited in line to - politely speaking - interact with the artwork.

The Guggenheim offered this piece to President Donald Trump during his first term when he requested to borrow a Van Gogh painting.

In 2019, it was displayed at Blenheim Palace, the English country estate where Winston Churchill was born. Within days, burglars broke in, forcibly removed it from the plumbing system, and escaped.

Two men were convicted and imprisoned earlier this year, but the toilet remains missing. Investigators believe it was likely dismantled and melted down.

Galperin hesitates to predict the final selling price for "America." He notes that Cattelan's banana artwork raised questions about "how value is assigned to something that essentially has no inherent value beyond its authorship and conceptual idea.

"'America' represents in many ways the complete opposite of that. It serves as a perfect contrast in that this work possesses substantial intrinsic value unlike most artworks," he explained. "The question regarding the proportion of value between raw materials and artistic concept is prominently highlighted here."

"America" will be exhibited at Sotheby's new New York headquarters, the Breuer Building, from November 8 until the auction. It will be installed in a bathroom where visitors can view it up close.

At the Guggenheim and Blenheim Palace, the toilet was connected to the plumbing system, allowing visitors to book 3-minute appointments to use it. This time, visitors will only be permitted to look at the golden fixture - using it is not allowed.