Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Refinishing table

I want to refinish an old table from (malasia or bali?) that has an enormous amount of hand carved (recessed)detail on the surface.
The surface looks very dark right now almost black & gummy.
How do I do this? I want to remove the gummy look & keep the dark color.
& I want to clean out all the recesses before i begin anything
Thanks-
Meircoles

Lacquer is the finish used almost universally for furniture - it's a rare piece indeed (especially from the Pacific rim) that is not finished with lacquer.

The gummy feel you mention suggests to me the finish is deteriorating. I'd use VM&P Naphtha ( you can find it at any good paint store) along with steel wool(00 wool).

This will remove the deteriorated finish. It may also remove part (but not all) of the darkness of the color.

After a thorough cleaning and allowing to dry (overnight), you should be able to refinish with lacquer, either brush on or aerosol.

Thankyou for the information I really appreciate it.