London: Art experts believe they have discovered the only two surviving bronze statues made by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo.
The statues of two naked young men riding panthers are undocumented and unsigned.
The pair is described as "phenomenally important" and, if real, would solve one of the great mysteries in the history of art, the Telegraph reported.
The statues have been attributed to Michelangelo following a clue in a little-known 500-year-old drawing, which made the link between the figures made of bronze and an incomplete sketch from the days of the artist's workshop.
They could now become the only surviving bronzes attributed to Michelangelo, as academics at the University of Cambridge and the Fitzwilliam Museum publicly declare their discovery.
The statues will go on display at the museum along with published evidence the authors claim proves their origins.
Michelangelo is known to have made at least two bronze statues, a nine-foot high figure of Pope Julius II and a version of David, but both have since been destroyed.
