Good morning, Hans

Thank you for using Mearto for your appraisal inquiry. If you'd like this appraisal to include dimensions, please forward them and I will plug them in; I can make the valuation without them.

I don't think this is French; it doesn't follow the styles popular in France at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th Century, though is VERY similar to chairs made then in urban centers of America and England.
This could very well be Canadian based on the history in your family; it also has some unusual characteristics that make it just quirky enough for me to think it isn't American or English...I am dating it a little later than the William & Mary aesthetic because it often took a little longer for high style to reach outlying provincial areas.

Based on the photographs and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

A William and Mary carved walnut wing armchair
Possibly Canadian, mid 18th Century
The double-arched crest continuing to flaring wings, the back, seat and closed arms upholstered in dark blue velvet with piped trim, with carved arm terminals, all raised on bulbous-carved legs ending in Spanish feet and joined by a pierced carved stretcher.
overall height 43 inches; seat height 17 inches; width 27 inches
CONDITION: Not examined in person but condition appears to be commensurate to age and use. Appears to have been reupholstered.
PROVENANCE: descended in the client's family
$700-1,000*
*Represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

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