Court cupboards were usually much taller than 35" -- more like 5 feet or more. The Eagle Lock Company was in business from 1833 until 1977, so if the lock is original to the piece, that gives you the absolute outside time limits. The single board on the back is a more modern technique, and it looks like it might be rather thin, probably plywood rather than a solid wood -- is it? Is there an exposed edge you can look at, maybe the bottom? Could we see the inside of the doors and the interior? I think what you have is a sideboard or buffet, and agree with the others on the date, although it might be as early as 1910. But as mfrog says, it's very hard to tell from photographs. Even if it isn't centuries old, it's still a nice piece.

Yeah....canola oil will work....but tung oil is better. I know some "junkers"...people who buy stuff to garage sale out....who spray their piece with Pam. But canola and pam never really really dry....and they get dust stuck to them. Tung oil is meant to be used on furniture....and I think it has a drier in it. An alternative would be spray on lacquer....but you want to be sure you get it into all the groves or you will get rust again. An oil you brush on is best. As for the steel wool....use fine...it will scratch....but by using the fine, the scratches will be....fine!! Dip the steel wool in Brasso or BarKeepers Friend with a bit of water and scrub at those dark spots. I have a pair of mid 19th century brass push up candle sticks that were black as pitch....they had been in a fire.....they are now wonderful polished brass. Keep at it....it will happen and 10 years from now you will remember what a pain it was to clean up!!!

The two 'master' chairs are indeed from a different set. (But I LOVE them. They are sooooo sturdy and comfortable - everyone wants to sit in them! and they have great character) I also think they're made of mahogany, not walnut like the other chairs. But the cane back chairs have carving on the legs that is identical to the feet of the sideboards. All upholstery has been replaced multiple times from looking at the underside of the chairs - I also suspect the caning is not original, but it is doubled and is very heavy grade caning. Sideboards have carved mouldings identical to the mouldings around the edge of the table. *shrugs* Even if the chairs are from a later time, they match well with it. Don't suppose anyone has any ideas on the actual age and origin of the larger pieces? I've looked all over the internet, and I've had one person from Europe suggest they're from the 1930's, 40's, or 50's and made in America, which I have to disagree with. American pieces made during the great depression era aren't large, they aren't heavy, and typically don't have the nice veneer work on them. People simply couldn't afford that sort of furniture at that time. I have several pieces from that era, they're pretty common in this part of the U.S. 1940's ushered in WWII; the ability to manufacture pretty furniture was eclipsed by building airplanes and war machines. 1950's pieces don't tend to have the thick cuts of wood for a carcass - the table top alone is just over an inch thick, same for the tops of the sideboards. They also didn't typically use mortise and tenon construction for things like mouldings around the edges of furniture. I have yet to see any American furniture from any of those decades that have wooden knobs. They usually have brass or brass plated pulls. European pieces tend to have brass hinges; the sideboards I have do have brass hinges, whereas American furniture has iron or steel. I guess I'm just going through process of elimination now. LOL The style is so eclectic, yet not as awkward and top-heavy as Victorian pieces, that I'm led to believe it might be late (very late) Edwardian - which would put it being made in the mid to late 1900's, possibly even early 20's. One other clue to its possible age: It has a servants bell underneath at the area that would be occupied by someone sitting immediately to the left of the head of the table. It was an electric buzzer type thing, with a shred of the original sheathing left around what remains of the cord and it is a woven fabric. Actual copper of the cord looks dangerously thin - as in not up to modern electric standards. The buzzer appeared to be made of Bakelite, but also appears to be added later as I removed it and the wood beneath is lighter, but not by much. It is held on with flat head screws. It came with three leaves, and it will expand just enough for the three of them. The wood has shrunk so they don't fit tightly against one another, you can see right through to the floor in some places, but the moulding still meets at the edges. It has dowels/pegs on the underside of the frame to 'stop' the table at the correct length. I haven't measured it with all three of the leaves yet, but I do know I'll have to have a table cloth that's 70x120, if not larger. Also! The leaves do not have a metal tab system to lock them into place! Or the dowel and tabs like you see on modern pieces! It has carved wooden, half circle 'tongues' which are about a quarter inch thick. They insert into companion slots carved into the next leaf. They must be inserted in order or they don't fit together at all. Each leaf is marked for order of insertion with a scratched roman numeral: I, II, and III. I believe the veneer to be of walnut, as does the antiques dealer/appraiser friend of ours that looked it over this last weekend. He has been in the business for 30 years, and he's never seen anything like them himself. All he could do is confirm they're quality pieces and were a good investment. :-) I have not inspected the underside of the stretcher as it is just too heavy to flip onto its side.

Oh, you are absolutely right. "Century" is about the worst possible name a furniture company could have picked lol. I consider myself fairly well versed in the boolean search engine query, and I'm still having a lot of trouble with this one. I easily found Century's website, but couldn't find any catalogs with this model. I found a few furniture shops that carry Century as well, but nothing matching this style. I do have an email out to Century asking for identification, but who knows when or if they'll actually respond.