In the 1840s, a process called “dust-pressing” revolutionized the tile-making industry. Special machinery compressed nearly dry clay between two metal dies, ensuring uniform results. Dust-pressed tiles made at the Low Tile Works in Massachusetts were especially suitable for small domestic objects like this clock. The Japanesque patterns on the tiles reflect the transfer of the Aesthetic Movement from England to the United States. Commercially driven, this design reform movement touted art as a matter of uplifting beauty.