One year after Sotheby's captured worldwide attention with the $6.2 million sale of Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" (2019) - a banana duct-taped to a wall - the renowned Italian artist and the prestigious auction house are preparing to make headlines once again. Sotheby's will offer an edition of Cattelan's fully functional solid gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during its evening contemporary art auction in New York on November 18.

The extraordinary artwork, crafted entirely from solid 18-karat gold and modeled after a standard Kohler toilet, will have bidding starting at approximately $10 million, which represents the current market value of the gold used in the sculpture based on its weight, according to Sotheby's officials. However, this valuation may fluctuate between now and the sale date, as gold prices have been rising significantly in recent months.

During the auction preview period from November 8-17, "America" will be installed in a restroom at Sotheby's new Breuer Building headquarters in New York. Visitors will be permitted to enter one at a time for close-up viewing of the piece, though they will not be allowed to actually use the functioning toilet.

If "America" sells well above its $10 million estimate, it could become the highest-selling work in Cattelan's auction history. Should it exceed the estimate but fall short of the $15.2 million ($17.2 million with fees) achieved by "Him" (2001) - Cattelan's hyperrealistic sculpture of a diminutive, kneeling Adolf Hitler that sold at Christie's New York in 2016 - it would claim the second spot on his auction records.

Sotheby's has noted that this particular version of "America" is the only surviving edition of the artwork. Another edition was previously installed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where over 100,000 visitors actually used the functioning toilet during its year-long exhibition. That same edition was later relocated to Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom in 2019, where it was stolen just two days after installation. Earlier this year, two men were convicted in connection with the theft, and investigators believe the golden toilet was melted down and completely destroyed.

Created in 2016, the same year Donald Trump won his first U.S. presidential election, the artwork's title "America" and its gold construction have led many to interpret it as commentary on American politics and excess. However, Cattelan has stated that he did not anticipate Trump's political rise when initially conceiving the piece, as he first proposed the sculpture in mid-2015, shortly after Trump announced his presidential candidacy.

The connection between the artwork and Trump became even more notable when the White House later requested to borrow Vincent van Gogh's "Landscape With Snow" (1888) from the Guggenheim Museum. Curator Nancy Spector declined the request and instead offered "America" as an alternative, a proposal that the White House ultimately did not accept.

Cattelan has described the sculpture's Trump connection as merely "another layer of meaning," emphasizing that it shouldn't be considered the only interpretation of the work. Like his famous "Comedian," "America" is frequently viewed as a reflection on wealth and power, serving as a satirical commentary on the absurdities of the contemporary art market and the wealthy patrons who fuel it. Next month, one of those affluent collectors could potentially spend millions of dollars to acquire this unique and provocative trophy for their private collection.