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
BATHING BEAR CUB

A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

SHEEPDOG GIVES BIRTH TO BUMPER LITTER OF 14 PUPS

One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .

FRIENDLY TOAD READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP

STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .

BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

MY CONTRACTIONS LASTED TWO MONTHS

AN expectant mum suffered crippling contractions lasting a gruelling two months, due to complications from a rare condition .

THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BABY COT

A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .

ADORABLE OWL EMBRACES THE 'RUNNING MAN' CHALLENGE

SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .

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 .

ICELAND'S 360 DEGREE VIEW WATERFALL

THESE BREATH-TAKING photographs show the natural beauty of Iceland's most famous waterfall .

VICTIM SLAMS SENTENCE AS THUG WALKS FREE FROM COURT

A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .

MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS

A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .