This is a flip top Occasional table,it looks like oak,circa 1800,s..the fact that it has some modern screws,in it, is most likely because the old fixings gave up the ghost at some point,the top has been done in sections simply because,you could,nt make it any other way...slices of trees, just curl up...as for the tri leg configuration...wel l,3 legs make it very stable...and the flip top made them desirable at the time..because when it was,nt in use..it could be flipped and put against the wall,....