Do you ever wonder what goes through a thief’s mind? To seriously resign yourself to living off the work put in by others must take courage, although that’s dumb if we’re being honest. However, this doesn’t stop them from plying their trade, does it?
The royal residence Blenheim Palace recently suffered an overnight raid wherein one of the items stolen was a gold toilet. The 18-carat bowl, valued at $6 million, is the handiwork of Maurizio Cattelan, the famed Italian artist.
America
Artists have this thing where they have to name their work, and this golden lavatory wasn’t any different. Cattelan christened it America, maybe just to juxtapose the fact that it would be residing in the United Kingdom. Aren’t artists just funny like that?
Confirming the Palace break-in, the boys in blue at Thames Valley also announced that although they are yet to find the toilet bowl, their investigations have led to the arrest of one 66-year-old male suspect.
They also later confirmed the arrest of a second suspect, a 36-year-old man. The two are suspected to have been part of the gang, but have since been released on bail as police continue investigating the matter.
And as you would expect of any thief, the aftermath of their actions wasn’t any cause for concern for these particular ones. Not even the fact that stealing a lavatory would flood the room that it was in, and that’s exactly what happened.
So, in addition to losing $6 million, the Palace also had to contend with the flooding and damage that was a direct result of the lavatory theft. For a building that was put up in the 18th Century, do you see why flooding wouldn’t be the best of occurrences here?
But that the gang was courageous enough to raid a royal residence shows that they’ve got black hearts. All they wanted was “their” gold, leaving the rest of the mess for everyone else concerned to clean up.
Speaking about the incident, palace CEO Dominic Hare admitted that there has never been an assault of such magnitude in the royal residence’s history. He went on to say that they now had to rethink their security measures going forward, while also confirming that Cattelan was shocked about the theft of his piece.
Worth the Risk
Theft or no theft, however, CEO Hare said that although it’s always risky displaying art to the public, the value of any particular piece makes deem such risks worth taking.
The lavatory had been installed for use by visitors in the Palace, and it’s such a shame that a few individuals decided to rob a million others of this golden chance.
Just so you know, this isn’t the first time that the golden toilet bowl is making headlines. While it was in its former home at Guggenheim, the museum’s chief curator offered it on loan to President Trump for installation in the White House, although that never happened.
Naturally, it was a popular attraction at the museum, with people queueing for hours just for the chance to have a sit on it. There were even those who ended up using it, giving the bowl an opportunity to serve its purpose.
If you think about it, this is the perfect satire for criticizing those who don’t put their excess wealth into good use.
