William Ridgway's version of the "Animal Hunting" jug was an adaptation of a jug from the 1820's by Phillips & Bagster, a pioneering design that R. K. Henrywood argues deserves recognition as the first true relief molded stoneware of the type that was to continue through the nineteenth century (Relief -Molded Jugs 1820-1900, pp 53-55). The Ridgway version is an adaptation, not an exact copy; the relief scenes are considerably altered.

The action filled scenes of animals in combat recall the violent, tangled hunt scenes found in baroque era paintings Graphic tableaus depict a lion preying on a stag and on the reverse a wild boar taken down by dogs.  Both vignettes are backed by an orange peel textured frieze, extending from a scalloped band at the shoulder to the flat tablering below.  A simple band of hops above the shoulder circles the neck of he jug. 

The most striking feature of the jug is the detailed hound peering into the jug opening and forming functional and appropriate handle. Here Henrywood credits the Phillips & Bagster version as the original of this handle type that was copied so frequently in Britain, America, and on the continent that "hound-handled jugs" in all clay bodies constitute a sort of sub-genre of molded wares. The Ridgway hound is more detailed than the original and has been given a smart scalloped device on which to rest its hind legs.

While copying was common among British potters, the relationship between the Phillips & Bagster and Ridgway versions of the "Animal Hunting" jug may be explained as a phenomenon more matter-of-fact than early industrial espionage. A designer and modeler for P & B went on later to become a partner in William Ridgway & Co. Henrywood speculates that both designs may have originated with him, the Ridgway version representing his improvement on his own original (Henrywood, p.62).