Busted flush: gold toilet reportedly stolen from Blenheim Palace

Lavatory designed by Maurizio Cattelan was apparently taken but later recovered by police

America, a fully functioning gold toilet by Maurizio Cattelan
The fully functioning solid gold toilet was named America by artist Cattelan. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Police are investigating a break-in at Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Churchill family, amid reports a £1m golden toilet was stolen.

Police were called to the stately home in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, just before 5am on Saturday to reports of a burglary, where the 18-carat gold lavatory was on display as part of a contemporary art exhibition.

An unnamed source told local radio station Jack FM that the toilet, designed by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, was taken, but was later recovered by police.

A spokesperson from the local force said: “Thames Valley police is investigating a burglary at Blenheim Palace, which was reported at 4.57am today. Further details will be released in due course.”

The golden lavatory, named America, drew large crowds when it was exhibited in New York. It had been plumbed in the palace into a wood-panelled chamber opposite the room where the former prime minister Winston Churchill was born.

Visitors to the palace get three minutes of solitude to test out the golden throne. Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones has described the experience as “much like peeing on porcelain”.

He said: “But here, among all the photos of young Winston, it also feels like pissing on British history.”

Event Site Design, who work at the palace, said on Instagram: “We’ve had some drama overnight, which I won’t elaborate on just yet, but it has meant we need to redirect our contractor traffic for the day.”

Blenheim Palace announced that it would remain closed until lunchtime because of “an unforeseen incident”.