4 men charged in theft of 18-carat golden toilet from childhood home of Winston Churchill

Camille Fine, USA TODAY
·1 min read
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This Sept. 16, 2016 file image made from a video shows the 18-karat toilet, titled "America," by Maurizio Cattelan in the restroom of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Four men have been charged over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds, or $5.95 million, was the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan.

Four men were charged over the alleged theft of a gold toilet valued at $5.95 million, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Monday.

Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan’s piece, titled “America”, vanished overnight in 2019 while on display at the birthplace and ancestral home of Winston Churchill. The fully functioning 18-carat gold toilet — created as a pointed social commentary on excessive wealth and greed — was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, near the city of Oxford.

At the time, local police said that the theft caused "significant damage and flooding" because the toilet had been connected to the palace plumbing system. The country house, built in Oxfordshire, England, in the early 1700s, is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough.

The four men, who are accused of burglary and conspiracy to transfer criminal property, will appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Nov. 28, 2023.

Cattelan also created that duct-taped banana that went viral in 2019 after going on display at Art Basel in Miami.

Contributing: Doug Stanglin, Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4 men charged with golden toilet theft from Winston Churchill's home