John Irwin, Curator of Eastern Art at the Victoria & Albert Museum, assessed the value of Eilenberg's collection's at "more than a million [English] pounds at 1973 prices" and he added that Eilenberg's offer of it to the museum—in exchange for what amounted to a lifetime annuity paying 12,000 pounds a year—"constitutes by far the most important offer of oriental art that has ever come to the Museum . . . a major even in the history of the Museum." Even taking into account of the desire of those on less-lofty perches to cultivate Eilenberg's good will and largesse, the evident respect with which he was regarded by major art experts is striking in this series; curators and museum directors address him as a peer in terms of expertise in the field of Indian and East Asian art. This is typified by the correspondence with John Irwin, which progresses from a cordial but formal level to a friendly and collegial one in which he and Eilenberg even begin to collaborate on a book on Indian Art.