Believe it or not, that $15.7 million gold toilet was bought by … Ripley’s

FLORIDA - When a solid gold toilet – made with 100kg of 18-karat gold and a plumbing hookup – sold on the evening of Nov 18 during a contemporary art auction, the auction house teased that the buyer was a “famous American brand”. What the company did not say was that the lone bidder, who spent US$12.1 million (S$15.7 million) on the working sculpture, was an emporium for oddities and amusements. A spokesperson for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! confirmed on Nov 19 that the entertainment company had purchased the gold toilet, describing it as “one of the wildest acquisitions in its history”. “It is now the most valuable and certainly the shiniest exhibit ever to join the Ripley’s collection,” spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts said in a statement. “Melt it down, and the gold alone would fetch about US$10 million at today’s rate, which makes this perhaps the most tempting bathroom break in art history.” Ripley’s has dozens of attractions worldwide, putting its own spin on aquariums, museums and mirror mazes. Ripley’s has not said where the toilet will end up, though its intention is to display it. The company is even exploring, it said, “whether visitors may someday be allowed to use it”. Sotheby’s, the auction house that ran the Nov 18 sale, had priced the artwork based on the equivalent value of gold. Ripley’s paid that, and another US$2 million in premiums to Sotheby’s. The artwork, titled America, was made in 2016 by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, who fabricated two versions of the sculpture. Thieves stole and destroyed one in 2019 when it was exhibited at Blenheim Palace in England. The version bought by Ripley’s was previously owned by Mr Steve Cohen, a financier who owns the New York Mets. Mr Cohen maintains a large art collection that is said to include other works of dark humour or political commentary, such as Jasper Johns’ 1958 Flag painting and Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility Of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living, from 1991, which involves a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde. The amount that Mr Cohen paid for his toilet, which he bought in 2017, was not disclosed. When the version of the toilet on display at Blenheim Palace was stolen two years later, its worth was estimated at US$5.9 million. “Finding the unbelievable is our business,” Mr John Corcoran, Ripley’s director of exhibits, said in a statement. “But even we never imagined we would one day need a plumber on standby for an art installation.” “Our No. 1 idea is to keep things free-flowing,” he added. “No. 2 is making sure nothing gets clogged up and flushes away future possibilities. We will unroll some paper and start planning.” NYTIMES