A sketch (1888) for this model is known in which, on the left-hand part of the vase, a toad is depicted watching a dragonfly as it takes off. But the composition of the right-hand part of the sketch differs from the Hermitage variant where flowers are depicted in the foreground. Gallé repeated this model several times with a few changes in the decoration.
There are several different interpretations of this subject. François Le Tacon suggests that the subject symbolizes the birth of life and reflects Gallé's fascination with the theory of evolution. A more strongly founded version comes from Philippe Thiebaut who explains the subject as a juxtaposing of the forces of good, in the guise of the ascending dragonfly, and evil, embodied by the watching toad.