Sell a sculpture
Sculpture sells at auction across every level of the market, from studio ceramics to cast bronzes. Because buyers can’t handle it online, good photos and accurate measurements matter even more than for paintings.
How it works
- Send photos for a free estimate. A photo of the front, plus the signature, the back and any labels if you can. Add the size and anything you know about where the work came from.
- Get an auction estimate. A specialist compares the work with recorded auction results and replies with an estimate range: what the work could reasonably bring at auction, not a guarantee or a formal appraisal.
- Agree terms and a reserve. If you decide to sell, you sign a consignment agreement that sets the commission, any fees and the reserve (the confidential minimum price below which the work will not sell).
- Ship or hand over the work. The work goes to the house for inspection, cataloguing and photography. Condition and authorship are checked before it is offered.
- The sale. The work is offered in a scheduled sale, online or in the room. Buyers pay a buyer’s premium on top of the hammer price; that is the buyer’s cost, not yours.
- Get paid. After the buyer pays, the house settles with you: the hammer price minus the seller’s commission and any agreed fees.
Typical timeline
- Estimate: usually a few days after you send photos.
- Consignment to sale: commonly 6–12 weeks, because houses build sales around themes and seasons and need time to catalogue and market each lot.
- Payment: usually about 30–35 days after the sale, once the buyer has paid.
What selling costs
- Seller’s commission: a percentage of the hammer price. At many houses it falls roughly between 10% and 25%, often lower for higher-value works, and it is frequently negotiable.
- Possible fees: some houses charge for photography, insurance, shipping or an unsold-lot fee. Ask which apply before you sign.
- Buyer’s premium: paid by the buyer on top of the hammer price. Prices in our results include it where the house publishes it.
What affects the price
- The artist, the model and whether it was cast during the artist’s lifetime
- Edition or cast number, foundry mark and signature on the base
- Material: bronze, marble, wood, ceramic, resin
- Patina and surface condition; repairs, chips or replaced parts
- Height and weight, which also decide shipping costs
Photos to send
- Front, back and both sides
- The signature, cast number and foundry mark (often on the base or the back)
- The underside
- Any damage or repairs
What to have ready
- A straight-on photo of the whole front, in daylight, without glare (frame on is fine)
- A close-up of the signature, monogram or any stamp
- The back: canvas or board, stretcher, labels, gallery or exhibition stickers, inscriptions
- Height and width (and depth for sculpture), without the frame if you can
- Medium if you know it: oil, acrylic, watercolor, print, bronze…
- How you acquired it: purchase receipts, gallery invoices, letters, family history, past appraisals
- Condition notes: tears, flaking, stains, restoration, foxing on paper
- For prints: the edition number (e.g. 23/100) and any blindstamp
Free auction estimate
Popular artists: sculpture prices and selling
- Sell Pablo Picasso · price guide
- Sell Tiffany Studios · price guide
- Sell Toshiko Takaezu · price guide
- Sell Cowden & Wilcox · price guide
- Sell George E. Ohr · price guide
- Sell Lucie Rie · price guide
- Sell Charles and Ray Eames · price guide
- Sell Gertrud and Otto Natzler · price guide
- Sell Renée Sintenis · price guide
- Sell John Behan · price guide
- Sell Paul Evans · price guide
- Sell Igor Mitoraj · price guide
- Sell J. & E. Norton · price guide
- Sell Gerhard Marcks · price guide
- Sell Salvador Dalí · price guide
- Sell Ettore Sottsass · price guide
- Sell August Gaul · price guide
- Sell George Nelson & Associates · price guide
- Sell Harry Bertoia · price guide
- Sell Edoardo Villa · price guide
- Sell Marcel Guguianu · price guide
- Sell Hylton Nel · price guide
- Sell Peter Voulkos · price guide
- Sell Beatrice Wood · price guide
Questions
How do I know if my bronze is an original cast?
Look for a signature, a cast or edition number and a foundry mark, and compare with recorded examples. A specialist can tell you more from clear photos; authorship is confirmed by the house before a work is offered.
Past auction results on ArtSell are not valuations or guarantees; an estimate is an opinion of the likely auction range, and authorship is confirmed by the house before any work is offered.
More seller guides
How to sell art at auctionSell a paintingSell a printSelling inherited art and estatesHow to photograph art for an estimateAppraisal vs. auction estimateWhere to sell artArt appraisal for insurance