KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED
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.
Other great stories
COUPLE CELEBRATE THEIR 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND RECEIVE SPECIAL CARD FROM NEWLY CROWNED KING CHARLES
A couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week and have received a special card from newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla .
HIS BAIT WAS SEALED
15-foot-long great white sharks on the hunt, in False Bay, South Africa - SHOCK and awe pictures of 15-foot-long great whites on the hunt will leave you stunned .
JEALOUS EX TERRORISED ME FOR FIVE MONTHS
Heart pounding, Rebecca Cain jumped as a car door slammed on the street outside .
REAL LIFE ELF - WOMAN HAS EARS POINTED TO LOOK LIKE AN ELF
A Canadian woman who is obsessed with all things mythical has had her ears cut and shaped to look like an ELF .
WOMAN LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HER CHILDHOOD FRIEND BATTERED HER WITH A COSH AND BROKE HER NOSE IN VICIOUS ATTACK
A mum-of-two has revealed how her childhood friend of 20 years attacked her with a cosh and broke her nose in a vicious attack .
CRICKET FINDS AN UNUSUAL SEAT
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .
STABBED BY SON
Daniel Blore, 21, of Innage Crescent, Bridgnorth, stabbed his mother three times in the attack on January 11 this year, Stafford Crown Court heard .
WOMAN TAUNTED FOR HUGE FEET OPENS STORE
A woman branded the Jolly Green Giant by SOLE-crushing school bullies for her whopping size nine feet has had the last laugh by opening a shoe shop for big footed girls .
WELL–HEELED: WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE SHOES WORTH £276,000
Here’s a pair of shoes that really are fit for a princess, and with a price tag of more than £276,000, they are the most expensive shoes in the world .
Korean Mass Games
These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances .
RAINBOW CAVES
WELCOME to the 750-foot deep rainbow cave that leaves visitors bewildered by its multi-coloured mood lighting .
CLIMBERS TACKLE 200FT TOTEM POLE
TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .