DETROIT – The Detroit Institute of Arts announced Monday that it will name its newly reinstalled Ancient Middle East gallery in recognition of a $5 million grant from the William Davidson Foundation, which will go to the museum’s endowment.

The newly named William Davidson Gallery showcases objects from the ancient Arabian Kingdom as well as from the empires of Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and Rome.

“This is a fitting tribute to the life and work of William Davidson, who left such a singular mark on our community and the glass industry through his company, Guardian Industries,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. Glassmaking is a natural fit in the section of the gallery dedicated to the exploration of innovations, inventions and technologies (stone-carving, ceramics, writing, and metalworking) that emerged in the Middle East.

Davidson died in 2009 at age 86. He owned the Detroit Pistons and Auburn Hills-based Guardian Industries, an auto industry glass products supplier.

The museum is planning to include a section in the William Davidson Gallery on the production of glass in the ancient Middle East region, and has begun conversations with the Israel Antiquities Authority to obtain loans of remarkable glass and ceramics that will enhance the gallery.