# Artcurial.com Auction & Artist Scraper (`artsiom_k/artcurial-scraper`) Actor

Artcurial.com auction scraper — real hammer & buyer-premium prices, upcoming estimates, and a real cross-run artist price rollup, with delta mode.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/artsiom\_k/artcurial-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Artsiom Kunitsyn](https://apify.com/artsiom_k) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $7.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## artcurial-scraper

Scrapes auction lots and a real artist rollup from [Artcurial.com](https://www.artcurial.com) —
France's leading independent auction house. Real, open realized prices — both the hammer price and
the all-in final price including buyer's premium — for historical sales, upcoming-sale estimates,
and a genuine cross-run artist rollup, all from one Actor.

### Contents

- [Key features](#key-features)
- [Output](#output)
- [Input](#input)
- [Input examples](#input-examples)
- [Incremental (delta) mode](#incremental-delta-mode)
- [How to scrape Artcurial.com](#how-to-scrape-artcurialcom)
- [You might also like](#you-might-also-like)
- [FAQ](#faq)

### 🔑 Key features

- **Two prices per sold lot, not one.** `hammer_price` (the auctioneer's declared winning bid) and
  `final_price` (hammer price plus buyer's premium — the real all-in figure) are both reported —
  richer than most comparable actors, which only ever expose one realized-price figure.
- **Three entity types, one Actor.** `entityType: currentAuctions` (upcoming, not yet resolved),
  `auctionResults` (historical, with real realized prices — the default), or `artists` (a real
  rollup — see below).
- **A plain public JSON API under the hood, no scraping tricks.** Every lot comes from
  `/ace/sales/{ref}/items`, a clean paginated REST endpoint — no HTML parsing, no embedded
  JavaScript blob to unpack, no login.
- **Full historical archive in scope by default.** `auctionResults` walks every finished sale
  (2,595+ confirmed) when unbounded (`maxItems: null`) — not a recent-years-only sample.
- **Delta mode, tuned per entity type.** `auctionResults` defaults to the usual auto-incremental
  behavior (full scan first run, changes only after). `currentAuctions` always fully refreshes every
  run instead — upcoming-sale estimates change as a sale date approaches, so a full picture beats a
  delta for that one.
- **A real artist rollup, not a capped page.** `entityType: artists` reports uncapped running stats
  (lot count, average hammer/final price, latest lot) accumulated from every `auctionResults` lot
  actually crawled — see [Output](#output)'s known gaps for exactly what that means and doesn't mean.
- **Artcurial Motorcars is out of scope.** `robots.txt` explicitly disallows `/motorcars` — sales run
  by that department are filtered out of discovery entirely, not just left unlinked.

### 📋 Output

One dataset item per lot or artist, depending on `entityType` — see
[`.actor/dataset_schema.json`](.actor/dataset_schema.json) for the full field list, or the Output
tab's per-entity-type views for a readable table.

**Example lot record** (historical, sold):

```json
{
  "source": "artcurial",
  "entity_type": "auctionResults",
  "external_id": "artcurial_bcdf867e-f222-11f0-9027-31ffe29623b3",
  "url": "https://www.artcurial.com/en/sales/6557",
  "title": "PORTE-TORCHÈRE DE STYLE NÉO-POMPÉIEN",
  "sale_ref": "6557",
  "sale_name": "L'œil d'un érudit",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "estimate_low": 1500.0,
  "estimate_high": 2500.0,
  "hammer_price": 2600.0,
  "final_price": 3861.0,
  "sold": true,
  "change_type": "new"
}
```

**Example artist rollup record:**

```json
{
  "source": "artcurial",
  "entity_type": "artists",
  "external_id": "artcurial_artist_19802f4e-38e1-11f1-bef4-f918d58faf87",
  "name": "Albrecht SCHNIDER",
  "tracked_lot_count": 4,
  "tracked_avg_hammer_price": 4750.0,
  "tracked_avg_final_price": 7053.25,
  "latest_lot_title": "Sans titre - 1998",
  "latest_sale_name": "L'œil d'un érudit"
}
```

Results can be downloaded as JSON, CSV, or Excel from the Console's Output tab, or pulled via the
Apify API/dataset endpoint.

**Known gaps:**

- There is no per-lot URL on Artcurial's own site — every lot lives only inside its sale's page, so
  `url` always points at the **sale**, `https://www.artcurial.com/en/sales/{ref}`, not an individual
  lot.
- `hammer_price`/`final_price` are only set once a lot is actually sold (`sold: true`).
- `sale_name` is only populated on a discovery-driven run (no `startUrls`) — a `startUrls`-scoped run
  skips the normal sales-list walk that carries each sale's name, so `sale_name` (and an
  `entityType: artists` rollup's `latest_sale_name` built from it) is `null` in that case.
- `entityType: artists` **does not crawl anything itself** — it reads a rollup that
  `auctionResults`/`currentAuctions` runs build up over time as they process sold lots. Running
  `artists` before `auctionResults` has ever run pushes nothing (with a clear log message saying so).
  The rollup's numbers (`tracked_lot_count` etc.) are real and uncapped, but only as complete as
  what's actually been crawled so far — not necessarily an artist's true full history at Artcurial.
  They get more complete the more `auctionResults` runs (especially a full, unbounded one).
- `artist_uuid`/`artist_name` are only populated when Artcurial's own system links a lot to a named
  artist or carries free-text attribution — lots catalogued as a school/period/anonymous (e.g.
  "Ecole suisse vers 1700") carry that text in `artist_name` with no `artist_uuid`, and some lots
  carry neither at all.

### ⚙️ Input

See [`.actor/input_schema.json`](.actor/input_schema.json) for the full JSON schema.

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `entityType` | String | `auctionResults` | `currentAuctions`, `auctionResults`, or `artists`. |
| `startUrls` | Array of strings | *(none)* | Specific Artcurial sale **references** (e.g. `"6557"`, from `.../en/sales/6557`) to scrape directly — not URLs, since there's no per-lot URL to accept. Ignored for `entityType=artists`. Scope is always `"custom"` — no delisting-detection, no persisted baseline, and `sale_name` is left `null` (see Output's known gaps). Leave empty for the full sales-list-driven crawl instead. |
| `maxItems` | Integer | `50` | Stop after pushing this many dataset items (lots or artists). Defaults to a fast, cheap preview (also what keeps an unconfigured run within Apify's automated 5-minute QA check). A full `auctionResults` crawl covers the entire finished-sales archive — raise this or clear it (set to `null`) for that. |
| `mode` | String | `auto` | `auto` (recommended): the usual full-then-incremental behavior for `auctionResults`; always `full` for `currentAuctions` regardless of an existing baseline (see Key features). `full`/`incremental` override this per run. Has no effect for `entityType=artists`. |
| `impersonate` | String | `chrome` (internal) | curl\_cffi TLS-impersonation target. No bot-management signal was observed anywhere on artcurial.com while building this Actor, so this is set internally by default. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Object | `{"useApifyProxy": false}` | Apify Proxy config. Off by default — this Actor clears the site fine without one. |

### 🧪 Input examples

**Quick preview of recent historical results** (the default):

```json
{ "entityType": "auctionResults" }
```

**Full historical archive** (exhaustive, slow — every finished sale, `maxItems: null` explicitly
overrides the 50-item default):

```json
{ "entityType": "auctionResults", "maxItems": null }
```

**What's currently up for auction, fully refreshed:**

```json
{ "entityType": "currentAuctions", "maxItems": null }
```

**Artist rollup** (run `auctionResults` — ideally a full, unbounded run — at least once first):

```json
{ "entityType": "artists", "maxItems": null }
```

**A specific sale's results:**

```json
{ "entityType": "auctionResults", "startUrls": ["6557"] }
```

**Scheduled tracking run** — full, uncapped run (`maxItems` cleared — required for the baseline to
save and delistings to be detected):

```json
{ "entityType": "auctionResults", "mode": "incremental", "maxItems": null }
```

### 🔄 Incremental (delta) mode

Every `currentAuctions`/`auctionResults` run classifies each lot as `new`, `changed` (price/sold
status moved), `unchanged`, or `delisted`, using a state baseline persisted in a named Apify
Key-Value Store scoped to `entityType`. `entityType: artists` doesn't use delta mode at all — every
run is a full snapshot of the current rollup (see Output's known gaps).

- `auctionResults`: `mode: auto` (default) — first run for a scope pushes everything (`full`); later
  runs push only `new`/`changed`/`delisted` (`incremental`).
- `currentAuctions`: `mode: auto` always behaves as `full`, every run — see Key features for why.
- A `startUrls`-scoped run is always partial and never updates the baseline or reports delistings.

Full design: [`docs/incremental-mode.md`](../../docs/incremental-mode.md).

### 🚀 How to scrape Artcurial.com

1. Open the Artcurial Auction Results & Artist Scraper in Apify Console and go to the **Input** tab.
2. Pick `entityType` (`currentAuctions`, `auctionResults`, or `artists`).
3. `maxItems` defaults to 50 (a quick preview) — clear it (set to `null`) for a full, uncapped run.
4. Click **Start**.
5. When the run finishes, browse results in the **Output** tab, or download as JSON/CSV/Excel, or
   fetch them via the API.
6. To track over time instead of scraping once: create a **Schedule** with `mode: auto`.

### 🔗 You might also like

- **[Dorotheum Auction Results & Artist Scraper](https://apify.com/artsiom_k/dorotheum-scraper)** —
  the first entry in the Auction houses collection, same open-realized-price idea applied to one of
  Europe's oldest auction houses.

### ❓ FAQ

**Is it legal to scrape Artcurial.com?** It's legal to collect publicly available auction-result data
such as lot descriptions, prices, and sale information. Scrape it only with a legitimate purpose
under GDPR.

**How do I get only new/changed items?** Use `mode: auto` (or `incremental`) on a schedule — see
[Incremental mode](#incremental-delta-mode).

**Why is `hammer_price`/`final_price` null for a lot that's clearly listed on the results page?**
That lot hasn't sold yet (or wasn't sold) — check `estimate_low`/`estimate_high` instead.

**Why does `entityType: artists` push nothing?** It reads a rollup built up by
`entityType: auctionResults` runs — it doesn't crawl anything on its own. Run `auctionResults` (ideally
a full, unbounded run) at least once first.

### Search keywords

artcurial scraper, auction house scraper, auction results scraper, art price data, art market
analytics, realized price data, hammer price data, auction price index, art collector data feed

# Actor input Schema

## `entityType` (type: `string`):

"currentAuctions": upcoming, not-yet-resolved lots (estimates only). "auctionResults": historical, resolved lots with real hammer and all-in prices — the default. "artists": a real cross-run artist rollup, accumulated from auctionResults lots as they're crawled (not a fresh crawl of its own — run auctionResults at least once first, ideally a full/unbounded run, or this will push nothing). Each produces a different output shape (see dataset\_schema.json).

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional list of specific Artcurial sale references (e.g. "6557") to scrape directly, instead of the full sales-list-driven crawl — find a sale's ref in its URL, https://www.artcurial.com/en/sales/{ref}. Note this is a list of refs, not URLs — Artcurial has no per-lot URL to accept (every lot lives only inside its sale's own page). Ignored for entityType=artists. Scope is always "custom", with no delisting-detection or persisted incremental baseline (a hand-picked list is necessarily partial) — leave empty for the full sales-list-driven crawl instead.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after pushing this many dataset items (lots or artists). Defaults to 50 — a fast, cheap preview, and what keeps an unconfigured run within Apify's automated 5-minute QA check. A full auctionResults crawl covers the entire finished-sales archive (2,595+ sales, each with many lots) — raise this or clear it (set to null) for that; note a capped run never updates the incremental baseline (see mode below) or feeds the artist rollup for lots it never reaches.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

"auto" (recommended): for auctionResults, full scan on the first run for a scope, incremental (new/changed only) afterwards. For currentAuctions specifically, "auto" always behaves as a full refresh every run regardless of an existing baseline — upcoming sales are a small, frequently-changing dataset where a full refresh is more useful than a delta. "full": always push every item and refresh the baseline. "incremental": always push only new/changed items. Only a plain, unscoped crawl (no startUrls) can detect delistings or update the baseline. Has no effect for entityType=artists (every run there just reads the current rollup state).

## `impersonate` (type: `string`):

curl\_cffi browser TLS-impersonation target. No Cloudflare or other bot-management signal was observed anywhere on artcurial.com while building this Actor, so this defaults to "chrome" internally — override only if that stops working.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy configuration. Leave off — this Actor clears the site fine without one in testing so far (it doesn't appear to sit behind Cloudflare or any other bot-management layer at all).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "entityType": "auctionResults",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "mode": "auto",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("artsiom_k/artcurial-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("artsiom_k/artcurial-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call artsiom_k/artcurial-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,artsiom_k/artcurial-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/KdcbVKhHdZjfTKGFi/builds/7TK6hk5WpjXb4SHVI/openapi.json