Do you want a gloss or satin or matt finish? For gloss then shellac is hard to beat, but also, unless you already got familiar with it, can be tricky to apply (but not too tricky) Also of course are rattle can lacquers, but I don't think they look quite so good with uncoloured wood.
Satin, again a rattle can lacquer, but this would look less out of place. Also plain sanding sealer and microcrystaline wax gives a nice mid satin/gloss look.
Matt to semi matt. Finishing oil can give a very nice finish, it does tend to darken to wood a bit, but that is not necessarily a bad thing unless you are particularly aiming for very pale, be patient with it though, apply a couple of coats at first to let it soak in a bit, then give it a day, then apply a coat a day until you get the look you want, in fact after 4 coats it might be an idea to give it a week and then denib it a litte to fetch the surface back as the oil can leave a slightly rough finish at first. You can also buff it to a pretty high gloss, but you need to do it carefully, not building up any heat as that will cause the polymerised oil to soften and drag.
Any gloss finish can be cut back to a nice soft finish with very fine wire wool, or a fine nyweb pad.
I haven't done much with other oils and finishes so that is about the limit of thing I can think of Bill.
