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
GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .
FATHER-OF-ONE STUNS WIFE AFTER REVEALING POLE DANCING SECRET
A father-of-one stunned his wife of twenty-five years after revealing his secret love of POLE DANCING .
WOMAN REVEALS HER ONE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERED BURNS TO 22% OF HER BODY AFTER POURING BOILING MAC N’ CHEESE WATER OVER HERSELF
A mum-of-one has revealed how her one-year-old daughter suffered second and third degree burns to 22% of her body after pouring boiling water over herself .
CHEEKY MONKEY COOLS OFF IN APRIL SHOWERS
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
STRANDED POLAR BEAR
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
ADORABLE SQUIRRELS PREPARE FOR EASTER BREAK
Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .
OLYMPIC KNITWITS - KNITTERS STITCHED UP BY RED TAPE
Housands of cushions handmade as gifts for Olympics athletes may go to waste after London 2012 KNITWITS stitched up volunteers by refusing to allow them to hand them out .
GOOGLEMAP WHALESHARKS
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
ADORABLE OWL EMBRACES THE 'RUNNING MAN' CHALLENGE
SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .
ABANDONED PLAZA HOTEL
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
PUPPY LOVE: DOGS GET MARRIED IN $10,000 CEREMONY
Two dogs who couldn't keep their paws off each other have been united in matrimonial bliss after their owners shelled out $10,000 on a lavish canine wedding ceremony .