What is this and what should it look like?

Hello everyone - I have what I think is an old linen cabinet and was wondering if anyone knew anything about it. It has some bizarre features -

Half blind dovetails on the back of the drawers
Quarter sawn oak drawers
What looks like walnut veneer on the carcase sides and drawer fronts
A cathedral top
What looks like painted designs on one drawer front and on the panels to the side of the drawers
Neat, detailed carvings on one draw front and on the legs and skirts between the legs
Veneer on the inside of the two doors that almost look like a plastic replica
Weird carvings/moldings on the top that I thought were plastic or plaster but are actually wood with a thick finish, maybe varnish?
The drawers and doors look like they have worn out finish on them but the frame pieces of the cabinet are bare wood and have bits of what looks like black paint on them.

It came from a second hand shop in Morehead City, North Carolina but there are military bases near by so its origin could be anywhere. I am interested in rejuvenating/restoring it but I want to get it right for the period of construction. There is nothing like it on any internet searches I do and part of that could be because I don't know what to call it. There is also no writing or any identifying marks. Any help is appeciated!
Tom

 

Welcome!
Great job in photos!!!
Hang in there for Brad and others to pop in.

 

This is a bedroom armoire. Circa 1930 and probably not American. I am kind of getting a Dutch vibe from this but could be from surrounding countries or even English. Do you have the interior drawers?

 

Hi Brad. Supposedly the drawers exist but are not in my possession. The next time I am in Morehead City I plan to look for them and post pics. Do you think this piece was a mix of finished wood and painted wood? Any idea where I might search for images of similar pieces? I would like to get it back to its original condition with period correct finishes.
Thanks,
Tom

 

If you look inside the door, you will see natural finish with shading sprayed at the perimeter. This is probably what it looked like all over with the case structure pieces and ornamentation the darker color. The high points of the ornamentation would have been lighter. It is not paint but just a more opaque darker finish. This was sprayed on and would be hard to achieve for most DIY refinishers.

 

OK and thanks. I have spray equipment and might take a run at this once I find a similar image to go by.
Tom