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
GOING BALLISTIC - 15 FOOT RED BALL ARTIST
This is the crazy art project that is going ballistic - placing a huge squishy 15ft red ball into tight spaces .
WOMAN WEARS SAME TEE FOR A YEAR FOR DAUGHTER WHO CAN’T SPEAK
A mum-of-two has worn the same t-shirt for an entire year to raise awareness of a 1 in 7 million condition that prevents her daughter from talking .
STUNNING SUMATRAN TIGER CAUSES A SPLASH
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
GIRL GROWS BACK FACE AFTER ONE IN MILLION ALLERGIC REACTION
A teenage girl has grown back her entire face after being struck down by a rare skin disease .
10 YEAR OLD GIRL REINVENTS HER IDENTITY THROUGH COSPLAY
From foster care to the MAGICAL world of cosplay, a young girl’s dreams become reality after being adopted by a photography loving couple .
SNOWCAP SQUIRREL
WITH A LITTLE cap of fresh snow resting on his head, this squirrel tries his best to pull off his new look .
I LOST 13 STONE AFTER EX SAID MY BELLY WAS TOO BIG FOR SEX
AFTER splashing out on sexy black lingerie, Paige Way was excited for a romantic night away at a swanky hotel with her boyfriend .
ADORABLE BEAR CUBS SHARE A HUG
ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .
ANOREXIC DENTAL NURSE WHO SHRUNK TO UNDER FOUR STONE WINS HER NHS FIGHT FOR MORE TREATMENT
AN ANOREXIC dental nurse whose weight plummeted to less than four stone has won her NHS fight for more treatment .
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 .
ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .