Anyone who has a golden toilet deserves to have it stolen, if you ask me. The art piece, titled 'America', made by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, was taken from Blenheim Palace in the UK during a 5-minute heist.
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Footage from the theft shows the group of men pulling up outside of the palace. With a clear focus in mind, they make their move. As two cars wait, they unload their tools and break into the building. From here, they rip the golden toilet from its plumbing and carry the 227-pound throne to the waiting vehicles.
Within minutes they managed to steal the toilet. The whole operation seemed like a meticulous heist, but they made mistakes. The CCTV footage, as well as forensics and phone data, gave the identities of two of the thieves away.
Michael Jones, one of the main culprits in the heist, had been to visit it only the day before. He had apparently used it while doing reconnaissance for the heist.
Michael Jones and Frederick Doe have recently been found guilty of the theft and subsequent selling of the Golden Toilet. They allegedly cut it up to be sold. So, the gold loo is no more, it belongs to the streets. According to a report, Jones made around £900,000 from the heist. He has only been instructed to pay back £1.
The Golden Toilet Of America
The artwork, titled America, is supposed to represent the US. It's description in the Solomon R. Guggenheim New York City described it as "the aesthetics of this 'throne' recall nothing so much as the gilded excess of Trump's real-estate ventures and private residences." However, the artist says there is more to it than that.
The toilet was displayed in the Guggenheim in New York City from 2016 to 2019. Here, it functioned as a working toilet. It was placed in the regular cubicles alongside the others. People were able to line up to do their business on a $6 million golden toilet.
In 2017, Trump requested a loan for Van Goughs Landscape With Snow. The Guggenheim declined the request and instead offered him America instead. It appears they declined the loan, and the slight was not appreciated.
Now, the golden toilet has been chopped up and melted. If you choose to pull some metaphorical meaning from that, go right ahead.
