Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has just acquired its most valuable piece of work to date: Maurizio Cattelan’s “America.”
For those who are unfamiliar with the $12.1 million stunner, it’s a porcelain throne with an 18 karat gold makeover. Yes, we’re referring to that gold toilet. Talk about a unique statement piece!
Ripley’s purchase took place during Sotheby’s record-breaking auction in its new home, the Breuer Building, the week of November 17th — which also resulted in the sale of the most expensive piece of modern art in history at $236.4 million and the top-selling work by a female artist at auction (a Frida Kahlo self-portrait) coming in at a whopping $54.7 million.
The true star of the show, of course, is the shiny, expensive loo.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! dishes on its golden throne
You might recall the gold toilet on display at The Guggenheim, one of our favorite NYC museums, in 2016. Then, after relocating to Blenheim Palace in 2019, the fancy WC was stolen and is still missing to this day. Ripley’s toilet is the only fully fabricated edition of the golden throne still known to exist, according to a statement.
“Finding the unbelievable is our business, but even we never imagined we would one day need a plumber on standby for an art installation,” said the Director of Exhibits for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment, John Corcoran,. “Our number one idea is to keep things free-flowing. Number two is making sure nothing gets clogged up and flushes away future possibilities. We will unroll some paper and start planning.”
You might be surprised to learn that the toilet is actually fully functioning — and Ripley’s is considering allowing guests to use it at some point — but for now, it’ll be on display in Orlando.
Learn more at the Ripley’s website.