The coat of arms of the House of Demidov is represented in the collection of the Historical and Memorial Museum of the Demidovs.

Nikita Demidovich Demidov (Antufiev) — the founder of the dynasty — was born in 1656 in Tula, in the Armory Settlement. His father Demid Klimentyevich Antufiev was a peasant by class and a blacksmith by occupation. He came to Tula from the village of Novoe Pavshino (modern Dubensky district, Tula Oblast) and joined the Tula state armory. During his younger years, Nikita Demidov worked as an apprentice for one of the blacksmiths of the Armory Settlement, where he studied gunsmithing. At the age of twenty, he was mentioned in the lists of Tula “gun barrel masters”. In the 1690s, the name of Nikita Demidov entered the history of Russian metallurgy. His descendants continued his work.

When the Demidovs came to the Urals, they discovered not only deposits of iron, copper and magnetic ore, but also deposits of stones used for jewelry and carving, in particular malachite. The Demidovs monopolized the malachite market: free sale of this stone to anybody except the imperial factories was stopped, and it was exported to England, Italy, France in large quantities. Demidov’s merits were noticed by the state, and by the decree of September 21, 1720 he achieved noble status and got the surname “Demidov”. The corresponding document was issued, but as fate would have it, it turned out that Peter I never signed it after Demidov’s departure. Nevertheless, the new certificate as of March 24, 1726, issued and signed by Catherine I, contained a reference to the corresponding decree of 1720.

Heraldic description (blazon) of the coat of arms of the Demidovs: