A toilet made entirely of gold is going up for auction in New York on 18 November, with a starting price of NZ$17 million.
The artwork, called America, was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and is made from over 100 kilograms of solid gold.
Although it may look like an ordinary toilet, America is a sculpture that Cattelan designed to make people think about wealth and art. He once said it doesn’t matter if someone eats a fancy meal or a cheap snack; in the end, everyone uses the toilet the same way.
Two versions of the sculpture were made in 2016. The one being sold has been owned by a private collector since 2017. The other was displayed in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where more than 100,000 people visited to use it for a few minutes each. It was later shown at Blenheim Palace in England, where it was stolen in 2019. That toilet was never found and is thought to have been melted down.
The auction is being held by Sotheby’s, one of the world’s top auction houses. The toilet will be on display at their New York gallery starting 8 November, though visitors won’t be allowed to use it this time.
Cattelan is known for his surprising artworks. One of his most famous pieces is a banana taped to a wall, which sold for over NZ$10 million.
