/sothebys/auctions/search

POST /api/sothebys/auctions/search

Price: 20 credits

Search the Sotheby's auction calendar, upcoming or past, by keyword, date range, sale location, department and auction format, ordered by sale date. Returns auctions with title, sale date, location, departments, sale number, description and images.

How to use it

Find Sotheby's auctions by date, place or department. Pass an auction's id to sothebys/auctions for sessions and viewing days, or to sothebys/auctions/lots for its lots.

Parameters

• access-token string required

Request body

• timeout integer — Max scrapping execution timeout (in seconds) (default: 300; min: 20; max: 1500)
• keyword string nullable — Search text (examples: "watches"; minLength: 1)
• status string — upcoming or past sales (default: "upcoming"; one of: "all", "upcoming", "past")
• date_from string nullable — Earliest sale date (format: date; examples: "2026-10-01")
• date_to string nullable — Latest sale date (format: date; examples: "2026-12-31")
• locations array — Sale locations (default: []; one of: "Aalst, Belgium", "Abu Dhabi", "Alton, UK", "Amelia Island", "Amsterdam", "Anahola, Kauai, HI", "Aspen", "Atlanta", "Auburn", "Bali, Indonesia", "Beaune", "Beaver Creek, Vail Valley, CO", "Beijing", "Bel Air, CA", "Berkshire, UK", "Blenheim, Ontario", "Boca Raton", "Bordeaux", "Carson, CA", "Chicago", "Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, MA", "Chobham, United Kingdom", "Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France", "Cologne", "Coral Gables, Florida", "Corfu", "Culver City, California", "Dallas", "Davenport, UK", "Dayton", "Diriyah", "Doha", "Dubai", "Edinburgh", "Edwards, Vail Valley, CO", "Epsom, UK", "Essen", "Fort Lauderdale", "Fort Worth", "Geneva", "Graz, Austria", "Greenwich, CT", "Hampton", "Hershey", "Hesperus, Near Durango, CO", "Hong Kong", "Houston", "Indiana", "Jackson Hole, WY", "Key West, FL", "Kona Coast, Big Island, HI", "Lake Como", "Lake Tegernsee, Germany", "Langenthal", "Las Vegas", "Le Mans", "Liechtenstein", "London", "London | Online", "Los Angeles", "Madrid", "Malibu", "Mexico City", "Miami", "Milan", "Monaco", "Monte Carlo", "Monterey", "Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, California", "Mumbai", "Munich", "Mykonos", "Napa", "Napa Valley", "Near San Francisco, CA", "New York", "New York | Online", "Oxford, UK", "Palm Beach", "Paris", "Paso Robles, CA", "Phoenix", "Pickering, Ontario", "Plymouth", "Riyadh", "Saint Louis", "Saint Simons, Near Sea Island, GA", "Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, French Riviera, France", "San Francisco", "Santa Ana", "Santa Monica", "Sarasota", "Sarasota Area, FL", "Scottsdale", "Shanghai", "Silverstone, UK", "Singapore", "Southampton, NY", "St. Moritz", "Stuttgart", "The Hamakua Coast, HI", "Toronto", "Torrance", "Tuxedo Park, NY", "Umm Suqeim, United Arab Emirates", "Washington DC/Baltimore", "Waynesville, Near Cincinnati, OH", "Wellington, FL", "Wiltshire", "Yas Island", "Zurich"; examples: ["London","Hong Kong"])
• departments array — Sotheby's departments (default: []; one of: "19th Century European Paintings", "19th Century Furniture & Sculpture", "20th Century Design", "Aboriginal Art", "African & Oceanic Art", "African Modern & Contemporary Art", "American Art", "American Furniture, Decorative Art & Folk Art", "Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art", "Asian Art", "Automobiles | RM Sotheby's", "Books & Manuscripts", "British Paintings 1550-1850", "British Watercolours & Drawings 1550-1850", "Canadian Art", "Chinese Export Porcelain", "Chinese Paintings – Classical", "Chinese Paintings – Modern", "Chinese Works of Art", "Clocks & Barometers", "Coins and Medals", "Contemporary Arab, Iranian & Turkish Art", "Contemporary Art", "Czech Art", "Digital Art", "Dutch & Belgian Paintings", "English Furniture", "European Ceramics", "European Ceramics & Glass", "European Sculpture & Works of Art", "French & Continental Furniture", "German, Austrian & Central European Paintings", "Gold Boxes & Objects of Vertu", "Handbags & Fashion", "Handbags and Accessories", "History of Science & Technology", "House Sales & Private Collections", "Impressionist & Modern Art", "Indian & Himalayan Art", "Indian & South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art", "Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art", "Irish Art", "Islamic & Indian Art", "Islamic Art", "Israeli & International Art", "Italian Paintings", "Japanese Art", "Jewelry", "Judaica", "Latin American Art", "Modern & Contemporary Middle East", "Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art", "Modern Art | Asia", "Modern British & Irish Art", "Musical Instruments", "Natural History", "Objects of Vertu", "Old Master Drawings", "Old Master Paintings", "Orientalist Paintings", "Photographs", "Popular Culture", "Pre-Columbian Art", "Prints", "Real Estate | Concierge Auctions", "Real Estate | Sotheby's Concierge Auctions", "Rugs & Carpets", "Russian Art", "Science and Popular Culture", "Scottish Art", "Silver", "Sneakers, Sports Memorabilia & Modern Collectibles", "Sotheby's Concierge Auctions", "Space Exploration", "Spanish Paintings", "Special Projects", "Sports Memorabilia", "Stamps", "Swiss Art", "Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art", "Watches", "Whisky & Spirits", "Wine", "Wine & Spirits"; examples: ["Watches"])
• auction_types array — Auction formats (default: []; one of: "Legacy Auction", "Legacy LEC", "Legacy Other", "Legacy VIR", "Main Sales", "Online Auctions", "Private Sales", "RM Sales", "Single Owner Sales", "Theme Sales", "Time based sales", "Unknown"; examples: ["Online Auctions"])
• sort string — Result order (default: "date_asc"; one of: "date_asc", "date_desc", "relevance")
• count integer required — Max number of auctions to return (min: 1; max: 1000)

Response

• @type string (default: "SothebysAuction")
• id string required
• url string nullable
• alias string nullable
• year integer nullable
• description string nullable
• sale_number string nullable
• departments array (default: [])
• state string nullable
• sale_format string nullable
• sale_type string nullable
• currency string nullable
• location string nullable
• timezone string nullable
• conditions_of_sale string nullable
• is_lot_number_hidden boolean nullable
• published_at integer nullable
• bidding_opens_at integer nullable
• closing_starts_at integer nullable
• live_at integer nullable
• closed_at integer nullable
• bidding_phase string nullable
• bidding_method string nullable
• closing_interval integer nullable
• bidding_channels array (default: [])
• phone_bid_cutoff_at integer nullable
• lot_count integer nullable
• images array (default: [])
• sessions array (default: [])
  • @type string (default: "SothebysAuctionSession")
  • id string nullable
  • opens_at integer nullable
  • state string nullable
  • first_lot_number string nullable
  • last_lot_number string nullable
• viewings array (default: [])
  • @type string (default: "SothebysAuctionViewing")
  • location string nullable
  • starts_at integer nullable
  • ends_at integer nullable
• saleroom_notices array (default: [])
  • @type string (default: "SothebysSaleroomNotice")
  • text string nullable
  • lot_id string nullable
  • lot_number string nullable
  • lot_title string nullable
• featured_filters array (default: [])
  • @type string (default: "SothebysFeaturedFilter")
  • name string nullable
  • facet string nullable
  • value string nullable
• ends_at integer nullable
• starts_at integer nullable
• details string nullable
• sale_total number nullable
• sale_total_currency string nullable
• artists array (default: [])
• artist_ids array (default: [])
• brands array (default: [])
• tags array (default: [])
• updated_at integer nullable
• image_caption string nullable
• locations array (default: [])
• divisions array (default: [])
• regions array (default: [])
• latitude number nullable
• longitude number nullable

Errors

• 422 — The request body did not validate Check the fields against this schema. A URN with the wrong prefix is the most common cause.
• 408 — The request ran past its time limit Raise `timeout` in the request body, up to the maximum this endpoint documents. Lowering `count` or turning off the `with_*` flags also helps, because less work finishes sooner.
• 412 — The entity was not found, or a precondition failed Retrying will not help: either the entity does not exist, or the input points at a different one.
• 429 — Too many requests: a rate limit or a usage window is exhausted When the response carries an X-Retry-After header, wait that many seconds and retry: the same number is in the body as `detail.retry_after`, and the limit clears once that window passes. The message in the body names the limit that was hit.
• 500 — Something broke on our side Retrying will not help. If it keeps happening, send us the X-Request-ID from the response headers.
• 529 — Rate limit reached, or the endpoint is overloaded Wait at least 30 seconds, then retry.

Response headers

• X-Error — Error message text (present only on error)
• X-Request-ID — Unique request identifier
• X-Execution-Time — Execution time in seconds
• X-Result-Count — How many records the body carries. 0 means an empty result, which is a normal answer and not by itself an error. A non-zero count can come back together with X-Error when the failure happened partway through — read this header and X-Error independently.
• X-Total-Available-Results — How many records exist for this query, when the endpoint can say. On a `dry_run` request this is the answer and the body is empty. It saturates: the endpoint's documented maximum means 'at least that many', any smaller number is exact.
• X-Warning — Present when the request body carried keys this endpoint does not document. They were ignored, so any filter you meant to apply through them did not apply. Check the spelling against this schema and retry.
• X-Retry-After — Seconds to wait before retrying. Present only on 429.