Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan (above) is often referred to as the “prankster” of the art world. Longtime CB readers will recognize his bonkers works like the duct-taped banana auctioned off last year for $6.2 million, or Vanity Fair’s 2021 Hollywood Issue cover story. Before those efforts, Cattelan produced a piece called America. In the spirit of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain from a century before, America consisted of a fully-functioning, 18-carat gold toilet. After being on display at the Guggenheim in NYC, in 2019 America was installed in a water closet at former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s home in Southern England. Why there? Ask not for whom the bowl flushes. Actually, Churchill’s home, Blenheim Place, has an art foundation that invited Cattelan to put up an in-situ exhibition called “Victory is Not an Option.” Only it turned out victory was an option, for a team of burglars who broke into the estate and absconded with the 216-pound toilet in September 2019. But their day of judgment has come, as three of the men began trial this week:

Three men went on trial in an English court on Monday on charges stemming from the heist of an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibit at Winston Churchill’s birthplace.

The fully-functioning toilet, a work titled “America” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Place in southern England, a major tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Prosecutor Julian Christopher said a group of five men drove two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on September 14, 2019. They broke in through a window, smashed down a wooden door, ripped the toilet from the wall and left after five minutes in the building.

The toilet weighing 98 kilos (216 pounds) was insured for $6 million. Prosecutors say it was probably divided into smaller amounts of gold to sell it off.

Michael Jones, 39, is standing trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with one count of burglary, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Fred Doe, 36, and Bora Guccuk, 40, are charged with one count of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property, namely gold, which they deny.

A fourth man James Sheen, 39, has previously pleaded guilty to burglary.

The trial is due to last four weeks.

[From NBC News]

First of all, props to NBC News for titling this article: “Prosecutors aim to flush out alleged golden toilet thieves in U.K. trial.” Nailed it. Second, it must be logged that both the Guggenheim and Blenheim Place invited visitors to use the gleaming can (though time was limited to 90 seconds at the former and three minutes at the latter). Third, what I wouldn’t give to see the jury selection questions for this trial… “Have you, a family member, or close friend ever been the victim of grand toilet theft? Have you ever been convicted of theft or conspiracy to transfer stolen bathroom property?”

And finally, I have to say, I am continually blown away by the ingenuity, the whimsy, the downright quirkiness of British heists. (But for the record, no, of course I do not condone crime. Nor have I been legally prompted or obligated to make this disclaimer.) I know the article says they believe the toilet, or excuse me, art, has been broken down and sold off. But the dreamer in me would like to believe that there’s a Hobbity dwelling tucked away in Stratford-upon-Bridgertonshire, where an unruly (yet deep down good-hearted!) band of thieves is gorging on their lifetime supply of artisanal cheddar cheese and savory Christmas pies, and then relieving themselves on the golden loo as necessary.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: KIKA/Wenn/Avalon, Ferrari – Look/Look Press/Avalon,