Small Italian maiolica lustre bowl, circa 1900, of hemispherical form internally decorated with a profile bust portrait of St. Justina of Padua, entitled to banner 'Guistina', within arcaded banding, 12.7cm diameter x 5.2cm high, handwritten label beneath 'Villa Demidoff di V. S. Donato'

Villa San Donato was build 1827-1831 for Nikolay Demidov / Demidoff, the Russian Ambassador to the Court of Tuscany, on land bought from the Catholic Church, at Polverosa north of Florence. The 42 hectare estate included rivers, lakes, churches, a menagerie, a silk factory, a zoo, gardens and a railway, as well as a 14-room private museum housing Demidoff's private collection.