Begun by Simon Patino, the founder of the Bolivian Tin fortune, the Patino Collection was greatly extended by his son Antenor (d.1982). As opposed to the Louis XVI leanings of the great 19th Century French furniture collectors, the Patino's concentrated upon the finest Régence and early Louis XV pieces, forming a legendary collection of menuiserie, lavish bronzes d'ameublement and, in particular, Japanese lacquer and Vernis Martin-embellished furniture, perhaps the most celebrated being the scarlet lacquer pieces, including the armoire by BVRB that had belonged to Mlle de Choiseul, presented to Versailles by Antenor Patino in 1956. These boiseries were assembled in Mr and Mrs Antenor Patino's residence at 9 rue d'Angine, Paris