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.
WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .
Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .
An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .
A feisty squirrel takes on a fearsome foe when he decides to tackle a T-REX .
Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .
Most people bend over backwards to keep children entertained, but this baboon show us how it’s done .