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
AERIALS OF FLOODING ON SOMERSET LEVELS
Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .
POLAR BEAR STRETCHES
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
UNUSUAL FRIENDSHIP
MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .
MOODY SEA TURTLE
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
WOMAN GAINED 5ST IN A YEAR DUE TO CRIPPLING POSTNATAL DEPRESSION, BUT PHOTO SHOCK SAW HER LOSE 7.5ST AFTER SHE DIDN’T RECOGNISE HERSELF - NOW SHE’S A SLIM SIZE 8
A mother-of-three who weighed almost 16st has revealed how she lost 7 .
BUG LOOKS JUST LIKE SATAN
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
BALD IS BEAUTIFUL: WOMEN WITH ALOPECIA TRANSFORMED INTO STUNNING SIRENS
A photographer has transformed women with alopecia into stunning sirens - showing that bald is beautiful .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
BURSTING FIREWORKS
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
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 .
BABY WORKOUT
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .