Incised or sgraffito decoration was a characteristic of North Devon slipware from the seventeenth to late nineteenth centuries. It involved coating a red-brown clay vessel with white slip, and incising a design through it to reveal the darker fabric beneath. After the vessel had been lead-glazed and fired, the design appeared red-brown against a yellow background. Alternatively the slip could be cut away to create a background for light-coloured motifs.

Large jugs, usually called harvest jugs, were the most accomplished products of Bideford and Barnstaple potters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of them bear inscriptions relating to ploughing and harvesting, but their decoration often reflects the importance of the sea in Devon life. Ships, mariners’ compasses and ships’ wheels were favourite motifs. Some examples, such as the one shown here, evidently had no connection with the harvest, but instead commemorated an event, such as a ship's maiden voyage, or crossing the Line. Another jug by John Hoyle (Fitzwilliam Museum, C.75–1928), bears the name of the Sarah Newman, a vessel of 1,220 tons which was built at Bideford.