(London) Three men accused of stealing a solid gold toilet by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan from a castle in southern England four years ago pleaded not guilty in a British court on Friday.
Published at 2:27 p.m.
The 18-karat gold work called “America,” including a functional seat, bowl and flush was valued at 4.8 million pounds (8 million Canadian dollars).
It was a key piece in the exhibition dedicated to the iconoclast Maurizio Cattelan in September 2019 at Blenheim Palace, an 18th-century Baroque residence in Oxforshire that is a UNESCO World Heritage site and where Winston Churchill was born.
James Sheen, 39, Michael Jones, 38, and Frederick Sines, known as Fred Doe, 35, have pleaded not guilty to charges against them, including burglary and conspiracy to deliver stolen property.
A fourth man, Bora Guccuk, 40, who is also charged with conspiring to transport stolen property, was not required to speak during the hearing at Oxford Crown Court.
The day after the theft, police said that the thieves entered the palace on the night of September 13-14 and left early in the morning with the precious toilet, causing significant damage and flooding.
The “America” toilet was first exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where it was used by around 100,000 people between September 2016 and summer 2017.
All four defendants were released on bail pending their next court appearance.