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
LEAPING WOOD MOUSE
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
RIVET-ING ALL WOOD TOWER
WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .
BAITBALL READY TO POP
LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .
BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
INCREDIBLE FOG CREATES GLOWING LANDSCAPES OVER TAIWAN
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .
£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
RESCUE TURTLES OPEN WIDE FOR DINNER
A pair of BEAUTIFUL rescue sea turtles spot their catch in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef .
PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
ANIMAL WHISPERER TAMES SILKY SHARK
A diving guide leaves a shark completely docile and balanced in the palm of his hand .
DESPERATE FOR A THIGH GAP I STARVED MYSELF TO 5ST 8LB
When personal trainer, Victoria Spence dreamt of achieving a thigh gap, she didn't realise her obsession would leave her body gripped by anorexia .
FLYING PENGUINS LEAP OUT OF THE OCEAN
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .