document: The 19th Century life-size carvings are modelled in the style of Spanish Conquistadors - bare-chested, wearing animal skins and carrying a club.
  They are estimated sell for up to £5,000 at 1818 Auctioneers on 5 June.
  Valuations expert David Brookes said he had never seen anything like them in a 35-year career and would love to know where they were made and how they ended up in the modern house near Ulverston.
  He described the carvings, which were possibly made in the Black Forest region of Germany, as detailed and skilfully done.
  "Beyond that, they are a complete mystery and one that we could do with solving", he said.
  "We know the Victorians loved their busts and statues; everything from knights in armour, angels and lions to athletes wrestling serpents.
  "They were collected by the wealthy and the middle classes to decorate their homes and, in the case of these two soldiers, to make a grand statement possibly either side of a doorway of the foot of a staircase.
  "I have asked colleagues and antique buyers for their opinions but nothing has come of it other than a bit of excitement and further speculation.
  "I would love to know where they were made, and by whom, and how they came to find their home in a modern house near Ulverston. Unfortunately that story has been lost with the owner."
summary: Two statues found during a Cumbrian house clearance have baffled experts.