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Blenheim Palace: Installation America by Maurizio Cattelan
Photo: Leon Neal / Getty Images
About four years after the theft of a golden toilet from the British Blenheim Palace, four men have been charged. The suspects, aged between 35 and 39, allegedly stole the 18-karat gold art installation on September 14, 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Monday. The defendants are scheduled to appear in court on November 28.
The precious locus, which weighs around 25 kilograms, is the work of the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was shown as part of an exhibition. The installation »America« was fully functional and was even allowed to be used by visitors - but only for a maximum of three minutes at a time to avoid queues.
The magnificent Blenheim Palace near Oxford is more than 300 years old and the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. According to the police, the robbers broke into the palace in the early morning at around five o'clock in two vehicles and then grabbed the golden toilet.
The toilet is gone
However, the current whereabouts of the stolen goods are unclear. The palace's insurance company had offered a reward of 100,000 pounds, around 115,000 euros, for information. In vain. The authorities assume that the sculpture was melted down and the gold sold.
A spokesperson for the Palace said in 2019 that it was very sad about the loss of the installation, which had already been on view at New York's Guggenheim Museum in 2016. The artist Cattelan expressed his hope that the theft could have been "an action inspired by Robin Hood".
ala/Reuters