In Wedgwood's "Monopodia" vase ornamental elements steal the show from the relatively tiny figural medallions featured. The result is one of the pottery's most purely architectural designs.

Four fluted columns support between them floral swags, suggesting a classical colonnade garlanded in preparation for some spring festival. The swags frame tiny oval medallions featuring  classical figures. The fanciful frieze between the lion mask capitols is composed of a naturalistic band of ivy looped by a wide ribbon which itself is studded with tiny florets. The looped ribbon idea is seen again in a narrow band of ornament around the tapering base of the vessel.

Sources are unclear on the reasons Wedgwood utilized solid jasper or jasper dip by the time of this vase's production. The uninterrupted black field extending into the wide opening, however, undeniably adds extra elegance to the design.

"Monopodia" are columns terminated at the top by an animal mask (frequently a lion) and at the bottom by a single paw or foot (the mono-pod). A legacy of ancient cultures, they have been used by architects and designers ever since, frequently appearing as furniture legs or as supports for some vessel.