Charges have been laid against four people over their involvement in the daring heist of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. The theft took place in 2019 and the toilet was part of an art installation. Named ‘America’, this luxurious dresser, worth a whopping 4.8 million pounds (equivalent to approximately Rs 50 crore), was created by acclaimed Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. A place of historical importance, Blenheim Palace has the distinction of being the birthplace of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced it had authorized criminal charges to be brought against four people. These four men will appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on November 28.
According to The Sky Newsthe gold toilet was previously on display in 2016 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where visitors could use it while a member of the security staff stood guard outside. The museum once also offered it to US President Donald Trump, who installed gold curtains when he moved into the White House.
The theft of this valuable and unconventional art installation has raised questions about the audacity and motivations behind such an act.
Dominic Hare, the CEO of Blenheim Palace, said The guard that he hoped that the ‘senseless’ act of stealing would immortalize the work. He added that it was deeply ironic that the work “depicting the American dream” and the elite object made available to all “was immediately torn away and hidden from view.”
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