Enfilade

As reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Embellished gourd, 1792-93, inscription reads: “Maximilien Bourdaloue le 21 janvier de cette année imbiba son mouchoir dans le sang de Louis XVI après sa décollation” (Photo: Davide Pettener)

Two centuries after the French people beheaded Louis XVI and dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, scientists believe they have authenticated the remains of one such rag kept as a revolutionary souvenir. Researchers have been trying for years to verify a claim imprinted on an ornately decorated calabash that it contains a sample of the blood of the French king guillotined in Paris on January 21, 1793. The dried, hollowed squash is adorned with portraits of revolutionary heroes and the text: “On January 21, Maximilien Bourdaloue dipped his handkerchief in the blood of Louis XVI after his decapitation.” He is then believed to have placed the fabric in the gourd, and had it embellished. The sinister souvenir has been in the private hands of an Italian family for more than a century, said the team of experts from Spain and France which published its findings in the journal Forensic Science International. . . .

The full AFP article is available at ArtDaily here»

Coverage in Le Figaro»

Additional images (from a 2010 story) are available at Wired.com»

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

From Forensic Science International:

“Genetic Comparison of the Head of Henri IV and the Presumptive Blood from Louis XVI (Both Kings of France),” Forensic Science International (2 January 2013)

Authors: Philippe Charlier, Iñigo Olalde, Neus Solé, Oscar Ramírez, Jean-Pierre Babelon, Bruno Galland, Francesc Calafell, Carles Lalueza-Fox

Abstract: A mummified head was identified in 2010 as belonging to Henri IV, King of France. A putative blood sample from the King Louis XVI preserved into a pyrographically decorated gourd was analyzed in 2011. Both kings are in a direct male-line descent, separated by seven generations. We have retrieved the hypervariable region 1 of the mitochondrial DNA as well as a partial Y-chromosome profile from Henri IV. Five STR loci match the alleles found in Louis XVI, while another locus shows an allele that is just one mutation step apart. Taking into consideration that the partial Y-chromosome profile is extremely rare in modern human databases, we concluded that both males could be paternally related. The likelihood ratio of the two samples belonging to males separated by seven generations (as opposed to unrelated males) was estimated as 246.3, with a 95% confidence interval between 44.2 and 9729. Historically speaking, this forensic DNA data would confirm the identity of the previous Louis XVI sample, and give another positive argument for the authenticity of the head of Henri IV.

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

Update (added 5 April 2013) — In the case of another artifact (as reported by the AFP at Art Daily) . . .