Police are trying to recover a toilet made entirely from 18-carat-gold said to be worth around $6 million that was stolen Saturday morning from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, the stately home where former prime minister Winston Churchill was born. The fully functioning toilet was installed as part of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan titled "Victory is Not an Option," which only opened to the public on Thursday. The palace remained shut for the rest of the day Saturday, a spokesperson said on Twitter.
Dominic Hare, CEO of Blenheim Palace, said that the artwork, titled "America," is valued at around $6 million.
Thames Valley Police received a report of the toilet's theft at 4:57 a.m. Saturday morning. The thieves left the scene at about 4:50 a.m., according to a statement posted online. A 66-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the theft.
Detective Inspector Jess Milne said in the statement: "Due to the toilet being plumbed in to the building, this has caused significant damage and flooding," adding, "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 continued, appealing for any potential witnesses to contact police.
Inspector Richard Nicholls said that a reception party Friday evening marking the launch of the exhibition "would form part of our inquiries in order to ascertain events leading up to the item being stolen." He noted, however, that commenting on how the item was stolen "would be speculation at the moment.
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