India, Nov. 20 -- A striking piece of contemporary art, a fully usable toilet made of 18-carat gold, has sold for $12.1 million. Created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, the work titled America has drawn global attention ever since its first casting vanished in a 2019 theft at Blenheim Palace. The latest version has now been acquired by Ripley's Believe It or Not!, bringing the artwork back into the public eye. (Also read: Reinventing Kasavu: How visual artist Lakshmi Madhavan brings Kerala's heritage alive through textile art )

Maurizio Cattelan, the Italian artist who once made headlines by taping a banana to a wall, is behind this glittering, 18-karat-gold toilet titled America. Weighing a hefty 101 kilograms, the piece opened wit...