Flush with cash? Solid gold toilet up for auction at Ksh1B
Art collectors are set for a rare opportunity on Tuesday to bid for one of the world’s most unusual and valuable lavatories: a solid gold, fully functional toilet.
The work, titled “America”, was created by provocative Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who gained fame for taping a banana to a wall. The piece weighs 101 kilograms (223 pounds) and is made of 18-karat gold. Its starting bid is set at around Ksh 1.29 billion.
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Cattelan has described the toilet as a satirical comment on extreme wealth. “Whatever you eat, a Ksh 25,800 lunch or a Ksh 258 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise,” he once said.
Sotheby’s calls it an “incisive commentary on the collision of artistic production and commodity value”, highlighting the absurdity of superwealth in contemporary society.
The golden toilet is one of only two produced by Cattelan in 2016. The other was displayed at New York’s Guggenheim Museum and was famously offered to U.S. President Donald Trump when he requested a Van Gogh painting.
That piece was later stolen while on exhibition in England at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Two men were convicted of the theft, though investigators believe the toilet was probably melted down.
The current auction piece is owned by an anonymous collector and has been displayed at Sotheby’s New York headquarters in the weeks leading up to the sale, allowing potential buyers to inspect the work firsthand.
With its blend of luxury, humour, and social commentary, America challenges traditional ideas of value and extravagance. In the world of contemporary art, even a toilet can become a bold Ksh 1.29 billion statement.
