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
FIGHTING FOXES

A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .

LONDON HELICOPTER CRASH

A helicopter has crashed landed in Central London .

HIDDEN HIMALAYAN FESTIVAL

A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .

MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS

These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create .

PEE-TRIFIED: WOMAN HAS IRRATIONAL FEAR OF TOILETS

A woman with an irrational fear of toilets goes POTTY on the loo and runs away when she flushes, terrified it will swallow her up .

CHEATING COPPERS CAUGHT RED HANDED AT AIRPORT BY SCORNED MISSUS

A scorned woman sparked a punch-up in an airport after she caught her copper boyfriend returning from a romantic holiday with a female police officer .

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER BEAR

An American black bear mimics John Travolta’s famous Saturday Night Fever dance move by hurling its arm in the air .

COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL

GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .

MESMERISING STAIRWAY SHOTS

STAIRWAY obsessed photographers have captured psychedelic shots that will mesmerise you .

UNDERWATER DIVING DOGS

WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .

ADORABLE CHRISTMAS BABIES

WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .