Cops are having a hard time locating a missing toilet, not your everyday ceramic toilet though.
The one they’re looking for is entirely made of 18-carat-gold.
The $6 million toilet named “America” went missing from Blenheim Palace on Saturday morning.
Watch to find out more of this news.
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Video credit: Rumble
The palace, located in Oxfordshire, England, is one of the many properties held by the crown of the UK and is of special importance for being the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The golden toilet, designed by Italian artist Maurizio Cattellan, was fully functional and was installed at the palace as a part of an exhibition named “victory is not an option.”
The palace was completely locked down after the authorities came to know that the toilet was missing.
According to Dominic Hare, the CEO of Blenheim Palace, the piece of art going by the title “America” has a value of above $6 million.
The incident was reported to Thames Valley Police at 4:57 am on Saturday.
It is estimated that the culprits left the perimeter of the Palace by 4:50 am. The police have taken a 66-year-old man into custody as part of the ongoing investigation for the missing toilet.
Inspector Jess Milne, the detective running the investigation, said in a statement: “Due to the toilet being plumbed in to the building, this has caused significant damage and flooding.
“We believe a group offenders used at least two vehicles during the offense.
“The artwork has not been recovered at this time but we are conducting a thorough investigation to find it and bring those responsible to justice.”
Milne also appealed any witnesses of the crime to come forward and help the police with the investigation.
Richard Nicholas, an inspector with the Thames Valley Police, remarked that the reception party which was held Friday Evening to mark the official start of the exhibition “would form part of our inquiries in order to ascertain events leading up to the item being stolen.”
Speaking to CNN about the incident, Hare said: “Following the Thames Valley Police statement we can confirm ‘America,’ the art piece by Maurizio Cattelan has been stolen in the early hours of this morning.
“We are saddened by this extraordinary event, but also relieved no one was hurt. We are very grateful to our staff and to Thames Valley Police for their rapid and brave reactions.”
He added: “We knew there was huge interest in the Maurizio Cattelan contemporary art exhibition, with many set to come and enjoy the installations.”
“It’s therefore a great shame an item so precious has been taken, but we still have so many fascinating treasures in the Palace and the remaining items of the exhibition to share.
** UPDATE **
We can confirm there was an incident overnight which has led to Blenheim Palace being closed until 2pm today. We are working closely with Thames Valley Police and would direct any media enquiries to them at this stage.
— Blenheim Palace (@BlenheimPalace) September 14, 2019
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“The investigation continues, but it will be business as usual from tomorrow, so visitors can continue to come and experience all we have of Cattelan appeared to make light of the situation, describing the thieves as “great performers.”
“When this morning I was informed about the robbery I thought it was a prank and it took me a while, after a few checks, to come to the conclusion that it was true and it wasn’t a surreal movie where instead of the jewels of the crown, the thieves went away with a b***** toilet, I always liked heist movies and finally I’m in one of them,” Hare said.
He even talked directly to the culprits, saying: “Dear thieves, please, if you are reading this, let me know how much you like the piece and how it feels to pee on gold.”
Edward Spencer-Churchill, the half-brother of the Duke of Marlborough and the founder of Blenheim Art Foundation, was interviewed by the Times this August in which he said that there is no possibility of the toilet being stolen.
“It’s not going to be the easiest thing to nick,” Edward said.
“Firstly, it’s plumbed in and secondly, a potential thief will have no idea who last used the toilet or what they ate. So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it.”
The golden toilet dubbed ‘America’ was unveiled at Guggenheim, New York City back in 2016.
The art piece made headlines in 2017 when the White House emailed Guggenheim to borrow the painting called ‘Landscape with Snow’ by Vincent Van Gogh but they offered ‘America’ instead.
The golden toilet was installed in a room just next to the one Winston Churchill was born in at Blenheim Palace.
According to a statement released at the time of announcing its exhibition, ‘America’ was intended to be a comment on the political, social, and economic disparities of the US.
Maurizio Cattellan, the designer who created this masterpiece, said in a statement to The New Yorker: “Whatever you eat, a two-hundred-dollar lunch or a two-dollar hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise.”
Replaced!