The vertical walls of this unusual five-sided cream jug and sugar are molded to resemble bamboo stalks lined up side by side, palisade-fashion. Handles take the form of bent bamboo stems, and even the spout is formed like a stout hollow stalk. The buff color of the stoneware heightens the effect.

Although the bamboo motif is most often associated with the Japanese craze of the late nineteenth century, the decorative possibilities of the plant attracted the attention of European designers well back into the eighteenth century. Among the potters who utilized the forms was Wedgwood. This more middle class version aspires to a sophisticated style while revealing a degree of naive whimsy.