Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! revealed as buyer of £9MILLION golden toilet at New York auction

The golden lavatory became the most expensive piece in Ripley's extensive collection of curiosities.

The entertainment company, which operates numerous attractions globally, including museums, aquariums and mirror mazes, was the sole bidder for the extraordinary bathroom fixture during the New York auction.

The artwork, entitled "America", was created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2016.

It consists of 101.2 kilograms of 18-carat gold fashioned into a working toilet complete with plumbing connections.

At current market rates, the gold content alone carries a value of approximately $10 million (£7.7 million), according to Ripley's spokesman Suzanne Smagala-Potts.

They ended up paying the gold's equivalent value plus an additional $2 million in auction house premiums to Sotheby's.

Mr Cattelan originally produced three versions of the golden lavatory in 2016, though this is the sole fully made version known to remain intact.

One edition of the golden toilet gained notoriety when criminals stole it from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire during a 2019 exhibition.

The thieves ripped the fixture from its plumbing and fled with the artwork.

Two men were subsequently convicted and imprisoned for the theft.

However, the stolen toilet has never been recovered.

Over 100,000 people had previously queued to use the original installation when it was displayed at New York's Guggenheim Museum in 2016.

The version purchased by Ripley's was formerly in the collection of Steve Cohen, the American financier who owns the New York Mets baseball team.

Ripley's intends to put the golden throne on public display, though the location has yet to be announced.

The company is considering whether to permit visitors to actually use the functional artwork. "Finding the unbelievable is our business, but even we never imagined we would one day need a plumber on standby for an art installation," stated John Corcoran, Ripley's director of exhibits.

He added: "Our No. 1 idea is to keep things free-flowing. No. 2 is making sure nothing gets clogged up and flushes away future possibilities. We will unroll some paper and start planning.

"The company acknowledged that allowing public use would require careful preparation and staff willing to maintain proper operation of the unusual facility.

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