First of all, listen to Green Acres. That will get you on the right road.
A friend restored an 1890s humpback or camelback trunk or ours that had been painted "antiqued" gold in the 1960s. It looked horrible. He stripped it, painted most of it black, restored the wood straps, and painted the locking hardward gold. This is a coomon look that I've seen for restored trunks, and I think it's historically accurate, or at least close. It looks unbelievably good, and I think your trunk would benefit from such a treatment.