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.
Made up of 40,000 pieces, putting in over 200 hours of work and blunting endless blades, this is the final result for the world’s largest jigsaw, finally finished on Wednesday .
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
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 .
THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .
THIS is the moment one irritated pelican nearly swallows the entire head of his unlucky competitor .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
FROM COLOURFUL autumn leaves to living trees at first glance you might miss these people blended with nature .
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
Sunny Saap, 27, from Columbia, Missouri, United States, enjoys life with her two boyfriends .
A mum has celebrated each of her four pregnancies with a host of wacky stunts - including acrobatics, aerial contortion, pole-dancing and risque photo shoots .
An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .