Thieves Walk Away With Ksh180M Gold Toilet From England’s Blenheim Palace

On Saturday, thieves made away with a Ksh 180 million toilet that was set and installed in a wood-paneled room at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, in the United Kingdom.

Police Officers were called to reports of a burglary at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where the loo – valued at £1.8m – was on display as part of a contemporary art exhibition, just before 5 am on Saturday.

“The piece of art that has been stolen is a high-value toilet made out of gold that was on display at the palace. The artwork has not been recovered at this time, but we are conducting a thorough investigation to find it and bring those responsible to justice.” DI Jess Milne of Thames Valley Police said.

The artist who made a solid gold toilet reportedly worth £1.8m has denied orchestrating its theft in a Banksy-style prank.

Here is the 18-carat working toilet 

The Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who created the sculpture entitled America and who has a track record of playing mischievous stunts, told international media that he wishes the theft was a prank.

“Who’s so stupid to steal a toilet? America was 1% for the 99%, and I hope it still is. I want to be positive and think the robbery is a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action.” He said.

Cattelan, 58, is understood to have attended a reception party at the 18th-century Oxfordshire estate on Friday, marking his first UK solo exhibition in two decades. The sculpture was the centerpiece of his new show, which opened on Thursday.

Thames Valley Police believe a gang of thieves using at least two vehicles were responsible for the theft and a 66-year-old man arrested on Saturday remains in police custody.

Last year, onlookers at a Sotheby’s auction were stunned when, just after it had sold for more than £1m, the canvas began to pass through a shredder installed in the frame. That stunt was said to have made the piece more valuable.

In Amsterdam in 1996, Cattelan previously stole the whole show of another artist at a nearby gallery and tried to pass off the exhibition as his own work.

He said at the time the theft was a survival tactic after being given only two weeks to produce work for his exhibit, saying I took the path of least resistance. It was the quickest and easiest thing to do,” according to media sources.

Initial reports had said the golden toilet was worth an estimated £1m, but Blenheim Palace’s chief executive, Dominic Hare, said it has been valued at about $6m (£4.8m).

The sculpture hit the headlines last year after it was offered to the US president, Donald Trump, by the chief curator of the Guggenheim in New York, its former home. The golden toilet had proved popular at the Fifth Avenue museum and had been described by critics as a pointed satire against the excesses of wealth.

“Whatever you eat, a two-hundred-dollar lunch or a two-dollar hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise,” Cattelan said jokingly.