An Oxford court on Friday handed jail sentences to two members of a gang that in 2019 stole a £4.75 million ($6.4 million, €5.5 million) art work in the form of a gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of famous British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The toilet, entitled “America” and created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan as a commentary on ostentatious consumerism, had been on display for a just few days at the stately home when a five-strong gang smashed its way into the palace, ripping out the fully functioning appliance.
The toilet, which was split up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered, weighed approximately 98 kilograms (216 pounds) and was made from gold worth about €3.3 million.
How long do you go to prison for stealing a golden toilet?
One of the men, James Sheen, 40, received a four-year sentence that will run consecutively to the 19 years and 4-month sentence he is currently serving for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary and fraud.
He is believed to have wielded the sledgehammer used to remove the toilet from its fastenings.
The other, Michael Jones, 39, received a 27-month sentence, with the judge saying he could not be sure he was part of the gang that carried out the burglary, though he was found guilty of having carried out reconnaissance at the stately home preceding the crime.
That reconnaissance included trying out the facility a day before the theft, an experience he described to the court as “splendid.”
Other members of the gang have already been sentenced for their roles in the theft.
Golden toilet once offered to Donald Trump
The toilet had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and had been offered to US President Donald Trump as a loan during his first term of office, an offer the White House declined, having rather requested a Van Gogh painting.
One of Cattelan’s other works, a banana duct-taped to a wall, was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York.
Blenheim Palace, which was built in the 18th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thousands of visitors come each year to visit it and the valuable art and furniture that it houses.
Edited by: Alex Berry
