Not too crappy.
Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-karat gold toilet, consigned by hedge fund manager and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, sold for $12.1 million Tuesday night after just one bid at Sotheby’s.
Titled “America” and produced in 2016, the toilet is fully functional, weighs over 100 kilograms and contains around 2,440 ounces of gold (around $10 million).
The starting bid of $10 million was pegged to its weight in gold and its single bid only rose higher due to buyer’s premium and fees.
Cohen acquired the piece in 2017.
One of two fabricated examples, it began in the Guggenheim Museum’s bathroom, leading to a line of 100,000. The second fabricated version was stolen in 2019 during an exhibition at Blenheim Palace and has never been recovered.
Cattelan was also the artist behind “Comedian,” the duct-taped banana which sold for $6.2 million to Justin Sun in 2024.
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Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.