Sometime in late 1914, Young Turk Minister of War Enver Pasha ordered the storage of hundreds of Iznik motifs thought to be in danger of extinction and/or to protect them from war-time damage. The motifs were crated, boxed and stored in various banks’ vaults in Istanbul. Little did anyone suspect that the motifs somehow managed to sneak out during the war, leaving behind the safety of their shields. While most government officials accused the motifs of treason and subversion, and sought to bring them before the Turkish courts-martial of 1919-1920, few realized that the motifs had actually left their containers looking for the blue, green, and red colors that had long abandoned them.