--- type: "firecrawl-provider" description: "Sotheby's (sothebys.com) auctions, lots with estimates and realized prices, Buy Now (marketplace) items and the site-wide search over lots, auctions, artists and articles, from the public GraphQL API (clientapi.prod.sothelabs.com) and Algolia search index behind the website." use_when: "Sotheby's (sothebys.com) auctions, lots with estimates and realized prices, Buy Now (marketplace) items and the site-wide search over lots, auctions, artists and articles, from the public GraphQL API (clientapi.prod.sothelabs.com) and Algolia search index behind the website." categories: "Retail" capabilities: 5 credits_per_call: 5 --- # Sotheby's on Firecrawl Alexandria Sotheby's (sothebys.com) auctions, lots with estimates and realized prices, Buy Now (marketplace) items and the site-wide search over lots, auctions, artists and articles, from the public GraphQL API (clientapi.prod.sothelabs.com) and Algolia search index behind the website. - Categories: Retail - Category index: [Retail category](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/categories/retail) - Provider key: `sothebys-com` - Access: Firecrawl credits - Cost: 5 credits per call ## More - [Human guide](https://firecrawl.dev/app/alexandria/sothebys-com) - [OpenAPI spec](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/openapi.json) ## Capabilities - [Auction](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/auction): One Sotheby's auction by its auction_id, by its URL slug and year, or by a pasted sothebys.com auction URL: title, sale number, state and type, currency, location and timezone, key dates, departments, sessions with lot ranges, exhibition dates, the sale totals (sale_result: zeros while the sale is open, published totals once closed, null when the site hides results), the overview text and the banner images. - [Auction lots](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/auction_lots): The lot cards of one Sotheby's auction, in catalogue order, with offset pagination: lot id and number, title, creators, slug and URL, estimate, bid state (closed, reserve met, number of bids, current and starting bid, phase) and result (sold, final price including premium) when the site shows it, withdrawn state and images. - [Buy now item](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/buy_now_item): One Sotheby's Buy Now (marketplace) item by its URL slug or a pasted item URL: title, creators, description, condition grade and notes, fixed list price and minimum offer in the item currency, availability, ways to buy (buy now, make offer, enquire), category and department, object details (type, provenance, literature, metadata such as signature and period, dimensions), shipping origin and images. - [Lot](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/lot): One Sotheby's auction lot by lot_id, by its URL parts (year, auction slug, lot slug) or by a pasted lot page URL: title, creators, lot number, full catalogue entry (description, catalogue note, provenance, literature, exhibition history as HTML), estimate, bid state and result (sold, final price with premium) when the sale shows results, withdrawn state, lot symbols, whether the condition report needs a login, the auction context (title, sale number, state, dates, location) and images. - [Search](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/search): Search Sotheby's site index (Algolia bsp_dotcom_prod_en, about 1.9 million lots plus auctions, Buy Now items, artists and articles). One page of hits with type, title, URL, sale and lot numbers, artists, departments, locations, estimate, realized sale price and sold status for lots, list price and SKU for Buy Now items, auction dates, plus facet counts (type, departments, locations, auctionType, available). Lot and Auction hit ids are the GraphQL lot_id / auction_id. ## 1. Choose this provider when Sotheby's (sothebys.com) auctions, lots with estimates and realized prices, Buy Now (marketplace) items and the site-wide search over lots, auctions, artists and articles, from the public GraphQL API (clientapi.prod.sothelabs.com) and Algolia search index behind the website. ## 2. Minimal request Call `POST https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/scrape` with `{ alexandria: { provider, capability, options } }`. For a batch, send `{ alexandria: [...] }` with up to 10 calls. ```json { "provider": "sothebys-com", "capability": "auctions/auction", "options": { "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } } ``` ## 3. Add provider options Use only the options needed for the task: - `auction_id` (string): The auction uuid (GraphQL auctionId, Algolia Auction objectID). Pattern: ^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$. Example: `` - `slug` (string): The auction URL slug, e.g. magnum-opus-evening-auction; requires year. Example: `` - `url` (string): A sothebys.com auction (or lot) page URL instead of auction_id or slug + year. Example: `` - `year` (string): The year segment of the auction URL. Pattern: ^[0-9]{4}$. Example: `` ## 4. Request through your preferred interface ### JavaScript ```javascript const result = await firecrawl.scrape({ alexandria: { provider: "sothebys-com", capability: "auctions/auction", options: { slug: "magnum-opus-evening-auction", year: "2026", }, }, }); ``` ### Python ```python result = firecrawl.scrape_alexandria({ "provider": "sothebys-com", "capability": "auctions/auction", "options": { "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } }) ``` ### cURL ```sh curl https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/scrape \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "alexandria": { "provider": "sothebys-com", "capability": "auctions/auction", "options": { "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } } }' ``` ### CLI ```sh firecrawl scrape 'sothebys-com/auctions/auction' \ --options '{"slug":"magnum-opus-evening-auction","year":"2026"}' ``` ### MCP Call the FCX MCP retrieve tool with this object: ```json { "provider": "sothebys-com", "capability": "auctions/auction", "options": { "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } } ``` Ask for only the returned fields needed by the task. ## 5. Full request shape ```json { "provider": "sothebys-com", "capability": "auctions/auction", "options": { "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } } ``` ## 6. Response data The response includes `success`, `provider`, `capability`, `creditsCost` and `data`. This example shows the provider payload in `data`: ```json { "auction_id": "68744939-7fe5-4007-8eaf-e0e16c505130", "currency": "USD", "dates": { "accepts_bids": "2026-10-02T19:00Z", "closed": null, "goes_live": "2026-10-21T23:00Z", "published": "2026-06-26T21:49:31.676429Z", "starts_to_close": null }, "department_names": [ "Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art", "Books & Manuscripts", "19th Century European Paintings", "Contemporary Art", "European Ceramics & Glass", "French & Continental Furniture", "English Furniture", "19th Century Furniture & Sculpture", "Islamic Art", "Impressionist & Modern Art", "Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art", "Old Master Drawings", "Old Master Paintings", "Photographs", "Prints", "Rugs & Carpets", "Indian", " Himalayan", " and Southeast Asian Art", "European Works of Art" ], "exhibitions": [ { "dates": [ { "end": "2026-10-17T17:00", "start": "2026-10-17T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-18T17:00", "start": "2026-10-18T13:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-19T17:00", "start": "2026-10-19T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-20T17:00", "start": "2026-10-20T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-21T12:00", "start": "2026-10-21T10:00" } ], "location": "New York", "timezone": "America/New_York" } ], "has_conditions_of_sale": true, "hide_lot_numbers": false, "images": [ { "height": 938, "title": "banner-N12500_BJ2CQ_T1_04_Cropped.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d17dcb8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x458+0+0/resize/4096x938!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Faf%2F78%2Ff823248b433dac3e106bc62b933e%2Fbanner-n12500-bj2cq-t1-04-cropped.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 4779, "title": "cal-N12500_DH3YH_062_V1.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f7663b6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1714x2000+0+0/resize/4096x4779!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fd5%2F1a%2Ffcef44754d328a05056345d2cf01%2Fcal-n12500-dh3yh-062-v1.jpg", "width": 4096 } ], "is_closed": false, "location": "New York", "observed_at_ms": 1791600699814, "overview": "

Magnum Opus: A Private Collection of Exceptional Art and Objects Through the Ages has been conceived as four distinct but interconnected chapters, each organized around a unifying theme rather than a traditional category framework, reflecting the deeply cross-disciplinary nature of the collection Itself.


ACT I: The Magnum Opus Evening Auction launches the series with a selection of the collection's exceptional masterworks, bringing together fine art, ancient sculpture, Islamic works of art and courtly carpets, furniture, and decorative arts in a single auction that mirrors the collector's instinct for dialogue across Disciplines. 


Illustrating the scope of the collection, you have one of the Evening Auction’s most arresting pairings: a cuirassed marble torso of a Roman emperor, the only such example in private hands with an extensive documented provenance extending back more than two centuries, and a small, early print of Richard Avedon's celebrated portrait of Marilyn Monroe from 1957, one of the defining images of 20th century photography. Two icons of presence and power, separated by two millennia, united in a single Room.


RSVP to the live auction here.

 

[specialist contact block omitted from the recorded example]

", "sale_number": "N12500", "sale_result": { "total_buyers_premium": 0, "total_final_price": 0, "total_hammer_price": 0, "total_overhead_premium": 0 }, "sessions": [ { "from_lot": 1, "scheduled_opening": "2026-10-21T23:00Z", "session_id": 0, "to_lot": 64 } ], "short_slug": "XiZa5HBiKX", "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "state": "Opened", "timezone": "America/New_York", "title": "Magnum Opus | Evening Auction", "type": "Live", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } ``` ## API reference-derived contract The following capability contract is generated from the same normalized Alexandria API reference exposed in the API spec. ### Auction - Capability: `auctions/auction` - Description: One Sotheby's auction by its auction_id, by its URL slug and year, or by a pasted sothebys.com auction URL: title, sale number, state and type, currency, location and timezone, key dates, departments, sessions with lot ranges, exhibition dates, the sale totals (sale_result: zeros while the sale is open, published totals once closed, null when the site hides results), the overview text and the banner images. - Instructions: Use after search (an Auction hit's id, or a Lot hit's auction URL) or when the user pastes https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/{year}/{slug}. Then call auction_lots with the auction_id for the lots. - Cost: 5 credits per call - Capability file: [Auction](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/auction) Accepted options: - `auction_id` (string): The auction uuid (GraphQL auctionId, Algolia Auction objectID). Pattern: ^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$. Example: `` - `slug` (string): The auction URL slug, e.g. magnum-opus-evening-auction; requires year. Example: `` - `url` (string): A sothebys.com auction (or lot) page URL instead of auction_id or slug + year. Example: `` - `year` (string): The year segment of the auction URL. Pattern: ^[0-9]{4}$. Example: `` Response schema example: ```json { "auction_id": "68744939-7fe5-4007-8eaf-e0e16c505130", "currency": "USD", "dates": { "accepts_bids": "2026-10-02T19:00Z", "closed": null, "goes_live": "2026-10-21T23:00Z", "published": "2026-06-26T21:49:31.676429Z", "starts_to_close": null }, "department_names": [ "Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art", "Books & Manuscripts", "19th Century European Paintings", "Contemporary Art", "European Ceramics & Glass", "French & Continental Furniture", "English Furniture", "19th Century Furniture & Sculpture", "Islamic Art", "Impressionist & Modern Art", "Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art", "Old Master Drawings", "Old Master Paintings", "Photographs", "Prints", "Rugs & Carpets", "Indian", " Himalayan", " and Southeast Asian Art", "European Works of Art" ], "exhibitions": [ { "dates": [ { "end": "2026-10-17T17:00", "start": "2026-10-17T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-18T17:00", "start": "2026-10-18T13:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-19T17:00", "start": "2026-10-19T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-20T17:00", "start": "2026-10-20T10:00" }, { "end": "2026-10-21T12:00", "start": "2026-10-21T10:00" } ], "location": "New York", "timezone": "America/New_York" } ], "has_conditions_of_sale": true, "hide_lot_numbers": false, "images": [ { "height": 938, "title": "banner-N12500_BJ2CQ_T1_04_Cropped.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d17dcb8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x458+0+0/resize/4096x938!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Faf%2F78%2Ff823248b433dac3e106bc62b933e%2Fbanner-n12500-bj2cq-t1-04-cropped.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 4779, "title": "cal-N12500_DH3YH_062_V1.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f7663b6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1714x2000+0+0/resize/4096x4779!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fd5%2F1a%2Ffcef44754d328a05056345d2cf01%2Fcal-n12500-dh3yh-062-v1.jpg", "width": 4096 } ], "is_closed": false, "location": "New York", "observed_at_ms": 1791600699814, "overview": "

Magnum Opus: A Private Collection of Exceptional Art and Objects Through the Ages has been conceived as four distinct but interconnected chapters, each organized around a unifying theme rather than a traditional category framework, reflecting the deeply cross-disciplinary nature of the collection Itself.


ACT I: The Magnum Opus Evening Auction launches the series with a selection of the collection's exceptional masterworks, bringing together fine art, ancient sculpture, Islamic works of art and courtly carpets, furniture, and decorative arts in a single auction that mirrors the collector's instinct for dialogue across Disciplines. 


Illustrating the scope of the collection, you have one of the Evening Auction’s most arresting pairings: a cuirassed marble torso of a Roman emperor, the only such example in private hands with an extensive documented provenance extending back more than two centuries, and a small, early print of Richard Avedon's celebrated portrait of Marilyn Monroe from 1957, one of the defining images of 20th century photography. Two icons of presence and power, separated by two millennia, united in a single Room.


RSVP to the live auction here.

 

[specialist contact block omitted from the recorded example]

", "sale_number": "N12500", "sale_result": { "total_buyers_premium": 0, "total_final_price": 0, "total_hammer_price": 0, "total_overhead_premium": 0 }, "sessions": [ { "from_lot": 1, "scheduled_opening": "2026-10-21T23:00Z", "session_id": 0, "to_lot": 64 } ], "short_slug": "XiZa5HBiKX", "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "state": "Opened", "timezone": "America/New_York", "title": "Magnum Opus | Evening Auction", "type": "Live", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" } ``` ### Auction lots - Capability: `auctions/auction_lots` - Description: The lot cards of one Sotheby's auction, in catalogue order, with offset pagination: lot id and number, title, creators, slug and URL, estimate, bid state (closed, reserve met, number of bids, current and starting bid, phase) and result (sold, final price including premium) when the site shows it, withdrawn state and images. - Instructions: Use with an auction_id from auction or from a search Auction hit to list what is or was offered and what it fetched. Page with offset (next_offset is null when exhausted). Follow a lot_id into lot for the full catalogue entry. - Cost: 5 credits per call - Capability file: [Auction lots](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/auction_lots) Accepted options: - `auction_id` (string, required): Pattern: ^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$. Example: `` - `limit` (number): Lots per page (the site uses 48). Example: `48` - `offset` (number): Zero-based position of the first lot; pass next_offset from the previous call. Example: `0` Response schema example: ```json { "auction_id": "68744939-7fe5-4007-8eaf-e0e16c505130", "count": 3, "has_next_page": true, "limit": 3, "lots": [ { "bid_state": { "bid_method": "Absentee", "bid_phase": "AcceptingBids", "closing_time": null, "current_bid": null, "final_price": null, "is_closed": false, "is_sold": false, "number_of_bids": null, "reserve_met": false, "result_visible": true, "starting_bid": { "amount": 55000, "currency": "USD" } }, "creators": null, "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 180000, "low": 120000, "upon_request": false }, "images": [ { "height": 1535, "title": "N12500_DH42L_T1_RX_01.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/db75858/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5313x7965+0+0/resize/1024x1535!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2F4a%2Fd9%2Ffedeb5ec49e3bee512040abada70%2Fn12500-dh42l-t1-rx-01.jpg", "width": 1024 }, { "height": 683, "title": "N12500_DH42L_T1_RX_04", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e5a7925/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1334+0+0/resize/1024x683!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2Fc7%2F36%2F6713063f49ffb0f6355d69b0ee55%2Fn12500-dh42l-t1-rx-04.jpg", "width": 1024 } ], "lot_id": "3e40ce96-7496-4fca-9520-b5e08a09d14a", "lot_number": "1", "sale_number": "N12500", "session_id": 0, "slug": "an-iznik-pottery-tile-turkey-circa-1580", "subtitle": null, "tags": [], "title": "An Iznik Pottery Tile, Turkey, circa 1580", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction/an-iznik-pottery-tile-turkey-circa-1580", "withdrawn_state": "NotAffected" }, { "bid_state": { "bid_method": "Absentee", "bid_phase": "AcceptingBids", "closing_time": null, "current_bid": null, "final_price": null, "is_closed": false, "is_sold": false, "number_of_bids": null, "reserve_met": false, "result_visible": true, "starting_bid": { "amount": 8500, "currency": "USD" } }, "creators": null, "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 30000, "low": 20000, "upon_request": false }, "images": [ { "height": 1535, "title": "N12500_DH42H_T2_01.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f873e91/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5304x7951+0+0/resize/1024x1535!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fd1%2Ff6%2F105380874b7bba35f260f65ee17f%2Fn12500-dh42h-t2-01.jpg", "width": 1024 } ], "lot_id": "1e8935e8-5e22-498b-a5b1-73a8601a0597", "lot_number": "2", "sale_number": "N12500", "session_id": 0, "slug": "an-iznik-pottery-tile-turkey-circa-1565-1575", "subtitle": null, "tags": [], "title": "An Iznik Pottery Tile, Turkey, circa 1565-1575", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction/an-iznik-pottery-tile-turkey-circa-1565-1575", "withdrawn_state": "NotAffected" }, { "bid_state": { "bid_method": "Absentee", "bid_phase": "AcceptingBids", "closing_time": null, "current_bid": null, "final_price": null, "is_closed": false, "is_sold": false, "number_of_bids": null, "reserve_met": false, "result_visible": true, "starting_bid": { "amount": 48000, "currency": "USD" } }, "creators": "Henri Matisse", "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 120000, "low": 80000, "upon_request": false }, "images": [ { "height": 1342, "title": "N12500_9PBR2_T2_02_A", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a8a97fe/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1526x2000+0+0/resize/1024x1342!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F8c%2F37%2F7f4161e9421882b931cd3a19ddd5%2Fn12500-9pbr2-t2-02-a.jpg", "width": 1024 } ], "lot_id": "c4fdbb02-9dcb-4751-89fe-bec37c7b3966", "lot_number": "3", "sale_number": "N12500", "session_id": 0, "slug": "portrait-de-lydia", "subtitle": null, "tags": [], "title": "Portrait de Lydia", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction/portrait-de-lydia", "withdrawn_state": "NotAffected" } ], "next_offset": 3, "observed_at_ms": 1791600706513, "offset": 0, "total_count": 64 } ``` ### Buy now item - Capability: `auctions/buy_now_item` - Description: One Sotheby's Buy Now (marketplace) item by its URL slug or a pasted item URL: title, creators, description, condition grade and notes, fixed list price and minimum offer in the item currency, availability, ways to buy (buy now, make offer, enquire), category and department, object details (type, provenance, literature, metadata such as signature and period, dimensions), shipping origin and images. - Instructions: Use when a search hit has type Buy Now (its url is https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_{slug}) or when the user pastes such a URL. Not for auction lots: use lot. - Cost: 5 credits per call - Capability file: [Buy now item](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/buy_now_item) Accepted options: - `slug` (string): The part of the item URL after /en/buy/_ (e.g. pablo-picasso-the-workshop-89ea). Example: `` - `url` (string): A sothebys.com Buy Now item URL instead of slug. Example: `` Response schema example: ```json { "attribution": null, "buy_now_enabled": true, "catalogue_note": null, "categories": [ { "id": 22, "name": "Fine Art" }, { "id": 6, "name": "Fine Art" } ], "condition": { "notes": "

A very pale band of mount staining in the margins.

", "overall": 4 }, "creators": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "department": "Collectibles", "description": "

The Workshop (L’atelier), by Pablo Picasso, 1927.

  • Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973).
  • Etching and aquatint on Wove paper.
  • Hand-signed and numbered.
  • This work is presented unframed.


This etching is hand signed in red ink by the artist \"Picasso\" at the lower left margin. It is also hand numbered in red ink from the edition of 150, above the signature. It was published by Ambroise Vollard, Paris in an edition of 150 signed and numbered impressions in the 1927.


Other impressions of this subject can be found in the collections of The McNay, San Antonio, Texas; The Portland Art Museum, Oregon; The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York and the Brooklyn Museum, New York.


", "enquire_enabled": false, "guarantee_line": "

Pablo Picasso

", "images": [ { "height": 3208, "title": "pablo-picasso-the-workshop-11657.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/d6/41/8ce13d1f4de88e8b62fb120df596/pablo-picasso-the-workshop-11657.jpg", "width": 4164 }, { "height": 1255, "title": "11657_03.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d380534/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2612x800+0+0/resize/4096x1255!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Ffa%2Faf%2Fa5d9a7404498ab7ddb370a590ea1%2F11657-03.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 2731, "title": "11657_04.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/866fc2b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1200x800+0+0/resize/4096x2731!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fa5%2Fa4%2F4dafc6324654833566f00cf212c5%2F11657-04.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 3637, "title": "11657_01.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f25f95d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/901x800+0+0/resize/4096x3637!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2F3a%2F84%2Fe01e567147a4ad7ea755dd4048f4%2F11657-01.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 3169, "title": "11657_02.jpg", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5fb0fd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1034x800+0+0/resize/4096x3169!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fe4%2Fa2%2Fd33e07b1453ebeb5986cb1603696%2F11657-02.jpg", "width": 4096 } ], "is_available": true, "objects": [ { "dimensions": [ { "key": "Height", "unit": "mm", "value": 346 }, { "key": "Width", "unit": "mm", "value": 393 } ], "exhibition": null, "literature": "

1. Bloch, G. (1968). Pablo Picasso: Tome II, Catalogue of the Printed Graphic Work 1904-67, Bern: Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein. Reference: Bloch 80.


2. Baer, B. (1990). Picasso: Peintre-Graveur, Tome I, Catalogue Raisonne de l'OEuvre Grave. Bern: Editions Kornfeld. Reference: Baer 121b.

", "metadata": [ { "key": "Signed", "value": true }, { "key": "Signature Details", "value": "

Hand-signed and numbered.

" }, { "key": "Dimension text", "value": "

Paper Height: 18.7 inches / 47.5 cm

Paper Width: 23.5 inches / 59.8 cm

" }, { "key": "Construction Year Start", "value": 1927 }, { "key": "Period - General", "value": "Vintage" }, { "key": "Region", "value": "Europe" } ], "object_type": "Print", "provenance": "

Henri Marie Petiet (1894-1980).

Georges Bloch (1901-1984).

", "sothebys_approved": false } ], "observed_at_ms": 1791600737372, "offer_enabled": false, "pricing": { "currency": "USD", "estimated_retail_price": null, "list_price": 16800, "min_offer": 11760 }, "property_type": "PeerToPeer", "retail_item_id": "dc8dbe4c-981e-4907-92f0-af3c6ea89f07", "sale_designation_line": null, "shipping": { "free_shipping": false, "origin_city": "Hampstead, London", "origin_country": "United Kingdom", "origin_state": "" }, "sku": "DNBKV", "slug": "pablo-picasso-the-workshop-89ea", "tags": [ "inventory:supply-dealer-gallery" ], "title": "The Workshop | L’atelier", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_pablo-picasso-the-workshop-89ea" } ``` ### Lot - Capability: `auctions/lot` - Description: One Sotheby's auction lot by lot_id, by its URL parts (year, auction slug, lot slug) or by a pasted lot page URL: title, creators, lot number, full catalogue entry (description, catalogue note, provenance, literature, exhibition history as HTML), estimate, bid state and result (sold, final price with premium) when the sale shows results, withdrawn state, lot symbols, whether the condition report needs a login, the auction context (title, sale number, state, dates, location) and images. - Instructions: Use with a lot_id from auction_lots or a search Lot hit's id, or when the user pastes https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/{year}/{auction-slug}/{lot-slug}. Realized prices appear once the sale closes and the site publishes results. - Cost: 5 credits per call - Capability file: [Lot](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/lot) Accepted options: - `auction_slug` (string): auction_slug Example: `` - `lot_id` (string): The lot uuid (GraphQL lotId, Algolia Lot objectID). Pattern: ^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$. Example: `` - `lot_slug` (string): lot_slug Example: `` - `url` (string): A sothebys.com lot page URL instead of lot_id or the slug parts. Example: `` - `year` (string): Pattern: ^[0-9]{4}$. Example: `` Response schema example: ```json { "auction": { "auction_id": "68744939-7fe5-4007-8eaf-e0e16c505130", "currency": "USD", "dates": { "accepts_bids": "2026-10-02T19:00Z", "goes_live": "2026-10-21T23:00Z", "starts_to_close": null }, "location": "New York", "sale_number": "N12500", "slug": "magnum-opus-evening-auction", "state": "Opened", "timezone": "America/New_York", "title": "Magnum Opus | Evening Auction", "type": "Live", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction", "year": "2026" }, "bid_state": { "bid_method": "Absentee", "bid_phase": "AcceptingBids", "closing_time": null, "current_bid": null, "final_price": null, "is_closed": false, "is_sold": false, "number_of_bids": null, "reserve_met": false, "result_visible": true, "starting_bid": { "amount": 65000, "currency": "USD" } }, "catalogue_note": "

The Vollard Suite is Picasso’s most important series of etchings. Created in bouts of fervent activity between 1930 and 1937, the series was retrospectively named for Ambroise Vollard, the great Parisian print publisher and art dealer behind its creation. The wide-ranging source imagery is partially autobiographical—perhaps most apparent across the fifteen prints detailing the narrative arc of the Minotaur, the half-man, half-beast figure with whom Picasso related deeply. The art critic Robert Hughes wrote that Picasso “was the Minotaur in a canvas-and-paper labyrinth of his own construction,” and indeed to the artist, the Minotaur represented the turmoil of his own uncontrollable desires (Robert Hughes, “The Artist Pablo Picasso”, Time, 1998). That turmoil is most directly observed in the depictions of Picasso, often as the Minotaur, with Marie-Thérèse Walter, the artist's young lover, nearly thirty years his junior. 


Marie-Thérèse’s presence in the suite ranges from serving as a sculptor's model to dreaming of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In the present image, one of the strongest and most compositionally complex in the series, she is guiding the blind and helpless Minotaur through the night. The Minotaur, who has already undergone a transformation from young and inquisitive faun to fully-fledged and wildly savage beast, has been blinded and enfeebled. The young Marie-Thérèse holds a white dove while their journey is watched by three fishermen, witnesses from the ordinary world to a bizarre mythological drama. Picasso employs every resource at his disposal: the distorted surrealist setting, the Grecian profile of Marie-Thérèse that hints at cubist depictions, and his mastery and combination of the intaglio mediums in a single image.


Minotaure aveugle guidé par Marie-Thérèse au pigeon dans une nuit étoilée is representative of Picasso's dominance of the 20th century. His fame extended past the worlds of art, politics and culture—Hughes writes that “more people have heard of him than ever heard the names, let alone saw the work, of Michelangelo, Rembrandt or Cézanne while they were alive” (Robert Hughes, “Anatomy of a Minotaur”, Time, 1998). That level of recognition befits an artist consumed as equally by genius as he was by his lust for creation. To make art was, for Picasso, to live. Much like the Minotaur, that creative lust was inherent and uncontrollable: the anguish across the face of the Minotaur in the subject work carries within it the feverish emotion and mastery of the medium that willed Pablo Picasso to his status as an icon of modern art.

", "condition_report_requires_login": true, "creators": "Pablo Picasso", "description": "

Pablo Picasso

Málaga 1881 - 1973 Mougins

Minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, from the Vollard suite (Bloch 225; Baer 437)


signed in pencil (lower right)

etching and drypoint with aquatint on Montval laid paper

plate: 9 ⅝ by 13 ⅝ in.; 24.5 by 34.7 cm

sheet: 15 by 19 ⅞ in.; 38.2 by 50.5 cm

Executed in 1933; this impression is from the edition of 50 on large format paper (the total edition is 310), published by Vollard.

", "designation_line": null, "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 150000, "low": 100000, "upon_request": false }, "exhibition": null, "images": [ { "height": 3162, "title": "N12500_BY5HW_T1_02_A", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/042082a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1544+0+0/resize/4096x3162!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F50%2Fd9%2F90308ed84fcf85b2e8a347ab29b5%2Fn12500-by5hw-t1-02-a.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 3475, "title": "N12500_BY5HW_T1_02", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8d03f94/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1697+0+0/resize/4096x3475!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F2d%2F24%2Fefbf55ce4647904645b35ee14136%2Fn12500-by5hw-t1-02.jpg", "width": 4096 }, { "height": 3484, "title": "N12500_BY5HW_T1_03", "url": "https://sothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1835ebb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1701+0+0/resize/4096x3484!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia-desk%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F31%2Fb0%2Fd6acd7494b84b3432ed77c33cbd8%2Fn12500-by5hw-t1-03.jpg", "width": 4096 } ], "literature": "

G. Bloch, Pablo Picasso, catalogue de l’œuvre gravé et lithographié, 1904-1967, vol. I, Bern 1968, cat. no. 225, pp. 72-73 , another impression illustrated;

B. Baer, Picasso peintre-graveur, vol. II, Bern 1992, cat. no. 437, p. 314, another impression illustrated.

", "lot_id": "a94c29d7-6d3b-44ad-9f2e-989b18826b37", "lot_number": "19", "observed_at_ms": 1791600728624, "provenance": "

Henri M. Petiet (1894-1980), Paris;

Private Collection, Paris (acquired by descent from the above);

With C.G. Boerner, New York;

From whom acquired by the present collector, 30 September 2014.

", "sale_number": "N12500", "slug": "minotaure-aveugle-guide-par-une-fillette-dans-la", "subtitle": null, "symbols": [ { "description": "Sotheby’s has a financial interest in the sale of this lot, as Sotheby’s has guaranteed a minimum price to the seller for one or more lots, regardless of the outcome of the auction.", "id": "GuaranteedProperty", "name": "Guaranteed Property" } ], "tags": [], "title": "Minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, from the Vollard suite (Bloch 225; Baer 437)", "translated_languages": [], "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction/minotaure-aveugle-guide-par-une-fillette-dans-la", "withdrawn_state": "NotAffected" } ``` ### Search - Capability: `auctions/search` - Description: Search Sotheby's site index (Algolia bsp_dotcom_prod_en, about 1.9 million lots plus auctions, Buy Now items, artists and articles). One page of hits with type, title, URL, sale and lot numbers, artists, departments, locations, estimate, realized sale price and sold status for lots, list price and SKU for Buy Now items, auction dates, plus facet counts (type, departments, locations, auctionType, available). Lot and Auction hit ids are the GraphQL lot_id / auction_id. - Instructions: Start here for any free-text question (artist, title, sale number, auction name). Filter with type (Lot, Auction, Buy Now, Artist, Article, Private Sale), location, department or available. Follow a Lot hit's id into lot, an Auction hit's id into auction / auction_lots, a Buy Now hit's url into buy_now_item. Algolia serves at most 1000 hits per query: narrow with filters for deep history. - Cost: 5 credits per call - Capability file: [Search](https://firecrawl.dev/alexandria/agents/providers/sothebys-com/auctions/search) Accepted options: - `available` (boolean): true: only records still open for bidding or purchase; false: only closed ones. Example: `false` - `department` (string): Department as the site names it (facet `departments`), e.g. Prints, Contemporary Art. Example: `` - `hits_per_page` (number): hits_per_page Example: `20` - `location` (string): Sale location as the site names it (facet `locations`), e.g. New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong. Example: `` - `page` (number): Zero-based page; pass next_page from the previous call. Example: `0` - `query` (string): Free text; empty or omitted browses the index with the filters alone. Example: `` - `type` (string): Restrict to one record type (Algolia `type` facet). Example: `Lot` Response schema example: ```json { "count": 5, "facets": [ { "name": "auctionType", "values": [ { "count": 8184, "value": "Legacy Auction" }, { "count": 3983, "value": "Online Auctions" }, { "count": 2635, "value": "Main Sales" }, { "count": 497, "value": "Single Owner Sales" }, { "count": 247, "value": "Time based sales" }, { "count": 128, "value": "Selling Exhibitions" }, { "count": 56, "value": "Non Selling Exhibitions" }, { "count": 6, "value": "S|2 Exhibitions" }, { "count": 3, "value": "Theme Sales" } ] }, { "name": "available", "values": [ { "count": 15734, "value": "false" }, { "count": 5, "value": "true" } ] }, { "name": "departments", "values": [ { "count": 8982, "value": "Prints" }, { "count": 5209, "value": "Impressionist & Modern Art" }, { "count": 470, "value": "Books & Manuscripts" }, { "count": 137, "value": "Contemporary Art" }, { "count": 116, "value": "Jewelry" }, { "count": 105, "value": "Photographs" }, { "count": 90, "value": "20th Century Design" }, { "count": 14, "value": "Russian Art" }, { "count": 10, "value": "French & Continental Furniture" }, { "count": 10, "value": "House Sales & Private Collections" }, { "count": 8, "value": "Modern Art | Asia" }, { "count": 6, "value": "Modern British & Irish Art" }, { "count": 4, "value": "Latin American Art" }, { "count": 3, "value": "19th Century European Paintings" }, { "count": 3, "value": "Special Projects" }, { "count": 2, "value": "African & Oceanic Art" }, { "count": 2, "value": "Old Master Paintings" }, { "count": 1, "value": "African Modern & Contemporary Art" }, { "count": 1, "value": "American Furniture, Decorative Art & Folk Art" }, { "count": 1, "value": "English Furniture" }, { "count": 1, "value": "European Ceramics & Glass" }, { "count": 1, "value": "European Sculpture & Works of Art" }, { "count": 1, "value": "Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art" }, { "count": 1, "value": "Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art" } ] }, { "name": "locations", "values": [ { "count": 5371, "value": "London" }, { "count": 4553, "value": "New York" }, { "count": 1251, "value": "Paris" }, { "count": 151, "value": "Hong Kong" }, { "count": 38, "value": "Beijing" }, { "count": 16, "value": "Milan" }, { "count": 14, "value": "Cologne" }, { "count": 11, "value": "Las Vegas" }, { "count": 9, "value": "Geneva" }, { "count": 5, "value": "Riyadh" }, { "count": 4, "value": "Amsterdam" }, { "count": 3, "value": "Dubai" }, { "count": 3, "value": "Zurich" }, { "count": 1, "value": "Diriyah" }, { "count": 1, "value": "Singapore" } ] }, { "name": "type", "values": [ { "count": 15739, "value": "Lot" } ] } ], "hit_count": 15739, "hit_count_exhaustive": false, "hits": [ { "artists": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "auction_details": "21 October 2026 | 7:00 PM EDT | New York", "auction_title": "Magnum Opus | Evening Auction", "auction_type": "Main Sales", "available": true, "concise_heading": "Pablo Picasso, Minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, from the Vollard suite (Bloch 225; Baer 437)", "departments": [ "Prints" ], "details": "Estimate: 100,000 – 150,000 USD", "end_date": "2026-10-21T23:00:00Z", "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 150000, "low": 100000, "upon_request": false }, "guarantee_line": "Minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, from the Vollard suite (Bloch 225; Baer 437)", "hammer_price": null, "id": "a94c29d7-6d3b-44ad-9f2e-989b18826b37", "image": "https://sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4576b77/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2000x1544+0+0/resize/421x325!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F50%2Fd9%2F90308ed84fcf85b2e8a347ab29b5%2Fn12500-by5hw-t1-02-a.jpg", "item_id": "BY5HW", "list_price": null, "locations": [ "New York" ], "lot_number": "19", "sale_number": "N12500", "sale_price": null, "sku": null, "sold_status": "UNSOLD", "start_date": "2026-10-21T23:00:00Z", "title": "minotaure aveugle guidé par une fillette dans la nuit, from the vollard suite (bloch 225; baer 437)", "type": "Lot", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-evening-auction/minotaure-aveugle-guide-par-une-fillette-dans-la" }, { "artists": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "auction_details": "22 October 2026 | 10:00 AM EDT | New York", "auction_title": "Magnum Opus | Act II: Figure & Form", "auction_type": "Main Sales", "available": true, "concise_heading": " Pablo Picasso, Nu étendu", "departments": [ "Impressionist & Modern Art" ], "details": "Estimate: 60,000 – 80,000 USD", "end_date": "2026-10-22T14:00:00Z", "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 80000, "low": 60000, "upon_request": false }, "guarantee_line": "Nu étendu", "hammer_price": null, "id": "10fde699-3fd6-4720-8da3-6748396c8c59", "image": "https://sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ea7cb50/2147483647/strip/false/crop/2000x1523+0+0/resize/421x321!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F88%2F3c%2F3f551d144d789a134a74fb312b45%2Fn12501-5nv85-t2-04.jpg", "item_id": "5NV85", "list_price": null, "locations": [ "New York" ], "lot_number": "174", "sale_number": "N12501", "sale_price": null, "sku": null, "sold_status": "UNSOLD", "start_date": "2026-10-22T14:00:00Z", "title": "nu étendu", "type": "Lot", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/magnum-opus-act-ii-figure-form/nu-etendu" }, { "artists": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "auction_details": "5 November 2026 | 6:00 PM CET | Paris", "auction_title": "Part III: Une demeure princière, La résidence de son Altesse Cheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, L'écrin Art Déco", "auction_type": "Main Sales", "available": true, "concise_heading": "After Pablo Picasso • Imaginary portraits", "departments": [ "Prints" ], "details": "Estimate: 80,000 – 120,000 EUR", "end_date": "2026-11-05T17:00:00Z", "estimate": { "currency": "EUR", "high": 120000, "low": 80000, "upon_request": false }, "guarantee_line": "Portraits Imaginaires", "hammer_price": null, "id": "10776fa1-ca5d-4a68-8616-027313b149d5", "image": "https://sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4a4f323/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1246x1574+0+0/resize/333x421!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com%2F32%2Fb5%2Fe5324a64431187657f1e7ac949b6%2Ff02-pf2628-v3-771-page-0001.jpg", "item_id": "DNVBT", "list_price": null, "locations": [ "Paris" ], "lot_number": "342", "sale_number": "PF2628", "sale_price": null, "sku": null, "sold_status": "UNSOLD", "start_date": "2026-11-05T17:00:00Z", "title": "portraits imaginaires", "type": "Lot", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/part-iii-une-demeure-princiere-la-residence-de-son-altesse-cheikh-hamad-bin-abdullah-al-thani-lecrin-art-deco/portraits-imaginaires" }, { "artists": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "auction_details": "18 November 2026 | 7:00 PM EST | New York", "auction_title": "Modern Evening Auction", "auction_type": "Main Sales", "available": true, "concise_heading": "Pablo Picasso, Tête de fou", "departments": [ "Impressionist & Modern Art" ], "details": "Estimate: 1,200,000 – 1,800,000 USD", "end_date": "2026-11-19T00:00:00Z", "estimate": { "currency": "USD", "high": 1800000, "low": 1200000, "upon_request": false }, "guarantee_line": "Tête de fou", "hammer_price": null, "id": "019f969e-954e-7041-aef7-d1dc05f0a917", "image": "https://sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/266fe41/2147483647/strip/false/crop/5199x7174+0+0/resize/305x421!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com%2F8c%2F1e%2Fa1d465a442be8083f9085ce97205%2Fn12363-d4rrz-t1-02.jpg", "item_id": "DM3NJ", "list_price": null, "locations": [ "New York" ], "lot_number": "21", "sale_number": "N12363", "sale_price": null, "sku": null, "sold_status": "UNSOLD", "start_date": "2026-11-19T00:00:00Z", "title": "tête de fou", "type": "Lot", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/modern-evening-auction-4/dummy-4" }, { "artists": [ "Pablo Picasso" ], "auction_details": "23 October 2026 | 5:00 PM CEST | Paris", "auction_title": "Modernités", "auction_type": "Main Sales", "available": true, "concise_heading": "Pablo Picasso, Tête d'homme, profil, Huile sur toile, 1963", "departments": [ "Impressionist & Modern Art" ], "details": "Estimate: 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 EUR", "end_date": "2026-10-23T15:00:00Z", "estimate": { "currency": "EUR", "high": 4000000, "low": 3000000, "upon_request": false }, "guarantee_line": "Tête d'homme, profil", "hammer_price": null, "id": "019ef482-8f2d-7a59-96c4-fb0b7431251d", "image": "https://sothebys-com.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f016b2a/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1652x2000+0+0/resize/348x421!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsothebys-md.brightspotcdn.com%2Fwebnative%2Fimages%2F97%2F39%2F6522644d46eea4fc8a756725ff48%2Fpf2616-dny8f-t1-02-cropped-v1.jpg", "item_id": "DNY8F", "list_price": null, "locations": [ "Paris" ], "lot_number": "212", "sale_number": "PF2616", "sale_price": null, "sku": null, "sold_status": "UNSOLD", "start_date": "2026-10-23T15:00:00Z", "title": "tête d'homme, profil", "type": "Lot", "url": "https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/modernites-pf2616/tete-dhomme-profil" } ], "hits_per_page": 5, "next_page": 1, "observed_at_ms": 1791601044413, "page": 0, "page_count": 200, "query": "picasso", "type": "Lot" } ```