Maurizio Cattelan's Solid Gold Toilet 'America' Expected to Auction Over $10 Million in New York

The solid gold toilet titled "America," created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, is set to be auctioned by Sotheby's in New York with a starting price near $10 million, reflecting the value of the 101.2 kilograms of gold used. Originally exhibited in 2016 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York where visitors could use it, the piece serves as a satirical commentary on excessive wealth and the relationship between material and artistic value. A second edition was stolen in a dramatic 2019 heist from Blenheim Palace in England, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and has never been recovered despite convictions of the perpetrators. The auctioned piece has been privately owned since 2017 and will be displayed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Manhattan headquarters before the sale, although visitors will not be permitted to use it due to security concerns. Cattelan's work continues the tradition of turning everyday objects into conceptual art, echoing Marcel Duchamp's famous 1917 urinal, and underscores the futility of wealth as the toilet's use is the same regardless of one's spending. This highly publicized auction follows the artist's reputation established by other controversial works, including his banana artwork that sold for over $6 million.