Flushed away? Would you dump $12 million on this golden toilet?

By Dean Murray

A gold toilet has sold for $12.1m.

Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s work, entitled America, was offered at Sotheby’s New York sale on Monday, Nov. 18.

The auction house said it was sold to a "famous American brand," although they have not disclosed their identity.

The fully functioning toilet is crafted from 18-karat solid gold and was first exhibited in 2016 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

David Galperin, Head of Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s New York, said: "America is unlike anything else: a brilliant fusion of material extravagance and conceptual wit.

"The work's impact was evident in the crowds it drew to our galleries at the Breuer: we had lines of people queuing for the bathroom at every hour of the day to encounter it in person.

"More than 25,000 visitors from around the world came to see it, drawn by its audacity and true singularity."

Another version of the work became famous when it was exhibited, and subsequently stolen, from Blenheim Palace in England in 2019. It has never been recovered.