She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .
STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .