Sebald Beham Auction Prices and Value Guide

Sebald Beham auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,089 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Sebald Beham auction prices: quick answer

Sebald Beham auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Sebald Beham
Source records
1,089
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Sebald Beham

Sebald Beham (c. 1500, Nuremberg – 22 November 1550, Frankfurt am Main) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman, best known for his remarkably small and detailed engravings. He is counted among the so-called Little Masters, a circle of German Renaissance printmakers working in the generation after Albrecht Dürer who specialized in intimate, finely wrought compositions. Beham trained and began his career in Nuremberg, where he was briefly exiled in 1525 on charges of heresy alongside his brother Barthel Beham and fellow artist Georg Pencz. By 1532 he had relocated to Frankfurt, gaining citizenship in 1540, and he remained there until his death. His surviving body of work spans engravings, woodcuts, paintings, and drawings, with subjects drawn from scripture, classical mythology, secular allegory, and everyday life. The artist signed his work "Sebald Beham" with the monogram HSP; the prefix "Hans" was a later addition not used by the artist himself.

German RenaissanceLittle Masters (Kleinmeister)EngravingPaintingDrawingWoodcutReligious scenesSecular genre scenesClassical mythologyAllegory

Common works and media

The most frequently encountered works at auction are small copperplate engravings — typically under 10 cm in their largest dimension — depicting biblical narratives, classical myths, allegorical figures, and genre scenes. Woodcuts and chiaroscuro woodcuts also appear, along with a smaller number of pen-and-ink drawings and panel paintings. Print subjects range from Old and New Testament episodes to scenes of peasant life, coats of arms, and ornamental designs. Works are typically catalogued under Sebald Beham or Hans Sebald Beham and bear the HSP monogram.

Market and appraisal context

Sebald Beham's auction market is overwhelmingly centred on Old Master Prints — specifically small-format copperplate engravings — which account for the great majority of his 23 tracked lots. Priced results span from 1999 to 2025 and cluster in a narrow band: the interquartile range is roughly €450–€900 (mixed currencies), with a median near €550. Nine of the ten priced lots are prints and fall within this band. A single drawing — a pen-and-ink study of the Arrest of Christ sold at Tajan in 2005 for €21,767 — sits far above the print range, confirming that works on paper outside the engraving corpus occupy a substantially different value tier. Recent activity is thin but steady at two lots per year, primarily through European specialist houses (Arenberg Auctions, Venduehuis der Notarissen, Old Master Print). The artist's prints appear at both major houses (Christie's, Sotheby's) and regional specialists, suggesting a broad but low-liquidity collector base. Prices have not shown meaningful directional movement over the observed period; value remains driven by the specific plate, impression quality, and condition of each individual lot rather than by macro artist-demand trends.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Old Master Prints
  • Old Master Drawings
  • Old Master Paintings
  • Engraving
  • Woodcut

Value drivers

  1. Medium: engravings are far more common at auction than paintings or drawings by this artist
  2. Impression quality: plate tone, paper type, margins, and state (early vs. late) significantly affect print value
  3. Attribution: works are catalogued under both 'Sebald Beham' and 'Hans Sebald Beham'; confirming identity against the HSP monogram is standard practice
  4. Condition: age-typical issues for 16th-century works on paper include foxing, trimming, creases, and laid-down sheets
  5. Subject matter: mythological and allegorical subjects may carry different market interest than purely devotional scenes
  6. Medium and format: engravings dominate the auction record and trade in the €400–€900 range; drawings and paintings are far rarer and, when authenticated, may command multiples of typical print prices — as demonstrated by the €21,767 Tajan drawing result.

Appraisal caveats

  • With over 1,000 documented auction appearances, Sebald Beham's engraving output is substantial and wide-ranging; individual lot values vary greatly by rarity of the specific plate, state, and impression quality rather than by artist name recognition alone.
  • Paintings by Beham are far rarer than prints and, when authenticated, may command substantially different estimates.
  • The Getty ULAN record (500115491) was unavailable at time of research; museum holdings and catalogue raisonné cross-references should supplement this profile.
  • Only 10 of 23 tracked lots have realized prices; the remaining 13 lots lack price data, which limits the reliability of the price distribution and may underrepresent both low-value and high-value results.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Sebald Beham

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Sebald Beham worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Sebald Beham artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.