Clocks · Clock
Carriage clock by Leitão & Irmão, Lisbon, c. 1910
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- c. 1910
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Portugal
- Object type
- Clock
- Materials / technique
- brass, marble, silver, gold
- Auction house
- Invaluable auction listings
- Lot
- Lot 8202E7E99A
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 106, 23rd November - Decorative & Oriental Art, Setdart Auction House (2026), via Invaluable
- Catalogue title (original)
- Leitao & Irmao, Lisbon. Carriage clock, c. 1910. Soft marble; silver filigree; brass. Signed on the dial. Stamped on the base. (English)
Editor's note
Title rewritten in English from the auction house's own lot title (Dutch, German or run into the description); facts unchanged.View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Invaluable auction listings (lot Lot 8202E7E99A), this is a clock, made in Portugal, dated c. 1910. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: brass, marble, silver, gold. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Lot description — Setdart Auction House
Leitao & Irmao, Lisbon. Carriage clock, ca. 1910. Soft marble; silver filigree; brass. Signed on the dial. Stamped on the base. Measurements: 15.5 x 7.5 x 6 cm. Carriage clock with a rectangular marble frame covered by delicate gilded silver filigree, featuring a floral design in the Modernist style. On the front of the base, the inscription "HORAS FELIZES" in filigree letters, set among plant motifs. It rests on four turned brass feet. Filigree is one of the most characteristic techniques of Portuguese goldsmithing. It involves working with extremely fine strands of silver or gold, which are twisted, flattened, and soldered together to form metallic lacework, often accented with small granulated beads. Of ancient origin and with strong Eastern and Al-Andalus influences, this technique took root with particular vigor in northern Portugal (Gondomar, Porto, Viana do Castelo) and was applied to both folk jewelry and luxury pieces. Here it is used on panels of white marble, which highlight the pattern of the gold thread, in a design that evokes the cases of French carriage clocks. The stylized plant motifs and sinuous lines reflect the Art Nouveau style, which coexisted with Art Deco in Portugal well into the 20th century. Leitão & Irmão was one of Lisbon’s most prestigious jewelry and goldsmithing houses. Founded in the 19th century, it was granted the title of jewelers to the Portuguese Royal House and worked for the court and Lisbon’s high society, creating jewelry, silverware, and luxury items.
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
Between 1900 and 1945 clocks were electrified: master-clock systems ran factories and offices, synchronous mains clocks entered homes, and the Shortt free-pendulum clock set new standards of accuracy before the first quartz clocks (1927). Art Deco design reshaped mantel and table clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Carriage and travel clocks
The carriage clock is a portable spring clock with a balance-wheel escapement and a brass case with glass panels and a carrying handle. Abraham-Louis Breguet made early examples around 1800, and from the 1830s Paul Garnier and other French makers industrialised production, with the small towns of Saint-Nicolas-d'Aliermont and the Franche-Comté supplying movements for retailers worldwide.
Typical features include a platform escapement mounted horizontally on top of the movement (usually a lever, sometimes cylinder or Garnier's chaff-cutter), striking or repeating work, and alarms. English carriage clocks, generally larger and with fusees, were made by firms such as Frodsham and Dent. Travel clocks in folding leather cases became popular in the twentieth century.
What to look for
- A platform escapement visible through the top glass.
- Case styles: corniche, gorge, anglaise, obis or engraved cases.
- Repeat buttons on top and strike/silent levers.
- Stamps of movement makers (e.g. Drocourt, Jacot, Margaine, Richard & Co.) on the backplate.
Dating clues
- Early carriage clocks with Breguet or Garnier features: c. 1800–1850.
- Mass-produced French carriage clocks: c. 1850–1914.
- Folding travel clocks and alarm travel clocks: mostly 1920–1970.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Detached lever escapement
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