Fluting covers most of the surface of this elegantly simple ovoid jug, eliminating the need for any more elaborate surface decoration. The vertical striping is achieved via the "engine turning" techniques Josiah Wedgwood developed in the eighteenth century. An oscillating lathe was employed to cut away alternating bands leaving leaving the vertical stripes in low relief. The only other ornamental element is the shape itself with its subtle bulge in the middle and its spirited upward curving handle.

The jug's proportions, slightly larger and more upright than the creamers of most teasets, likely identifies it as a milk jug.

Josiah Wedgwood's belief in his basalt body as one of his greatest achievements -- as something which would last forever -- is illustrated in the simple design of this and many other basalt pieces. Wedgwood trusts the beauty of the flat black body itself to bear principal responsibility for the jug's appeal. The resulting purity, by coincidence, foreshadows much later design trends.