The author describes the technical examination of two silver plates in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art (FGA #34.23 and 64.10). A checklist for this type of examination is given and followed in the rest of the article. One plate was made from separate pieces laid into the body of the plate, while the other is made from a single piece, possibly by carving. A metallograph shows working and annealing in the second case. Both plates are mercury gilded, with portions of the design reserved in silver. This article was an outgrowth of a Sasanian Silver Conference held at the Freer in 1968. Copiously illustrated. -- AATA