The ewer's shape is typical of the Sasanians who ruled the area that is now Iran, and whose designs the Chinese appropriated for everything from tableware to clothing.
The prize is a 144-year-old Victorian ewer fashioned from 134 oz.
That gimcracky old silver ewer with all the curlicues and the hole in the bottom is, to yachtsmen, the most beautiful prize the heart can yearn for, and the sailing races to win .