Despite its popularity, Wedgwood seldom ventured out of the neoclassical realm into the gothic. The "angular gothic" design, however, is a tour de force of complex geometry and mixed motifs. The press molded decoration creates a series of panels filled in with acanthus-like flourishes or masks, even including Tudor roses among the decorative elements. The stoneware body, heavier than true drabware (with which it is often mistaken), was confusingly called "drab porcelain," though it differs from this clay body type as well. A smear glaze adds sheen to the complex surface of the vessel.

Robin Reilly, (Stockton Press, 1989) illustrates an 1817 catalog page showing this series of wares including this tea kettle. (plate 958, page 550, Volume II), "Unnumbered Plates from the '1817' Catalog" (plates 957-960, ppg549-551)