fillette aux traits indécis

15:09 May 8, 2017 

Bemusement is good enough, I suppose --though I was shooting for utter confusion and missed by quite a ways.

In art hysterical parlance, we can speak of the "articulation" of certain elements (plane of the face, nose, mouth, drapery, etc., even of facades) in terms of their basic form or the clarity of their... well, articulation.

This specific technical usage apparently isn't known to the OED, but it is close to the sense of

7b. Music. The separation of successive notes from one another, individually or in groups, esp. regarded as an aspect of a performer's technique or interpretation; the manner in which this is done.

Sorry if I'm too deep in the jargot for ordinary mortals.

12:54 May 3, 2017 

that the "round" mouth --which seems a rather unusual feature-- has some iconographic significance (i.e., the "oh" is one of the "attributes" of this particular personage, allowing us to identify her, whoever she is meant to be).

I've seen such an "oh" mouth somewhere else, recently, but I can't think of where it was.

And, of course, there is a (very commonly used) hieroglyphic sign which is simply an open mouth --which probably has nothing at all to do with this figure, perhaps even in its "symbolic" as well as phonetic meaning.

18:41 May 2, 2017 

really work; after all, the face *is* "differentiated" by having distinct features on it.

We're asked to buy a pig in a poke here, not having any picture of the thing to go by.

I'm trying to imagine the visage from the description given: eyebrow, eye and cheek in [yes, Tony] the same plane, a stubby nose, [simple] round mouth

Perhaps something like "with vaguely/simply articulated features" is what he means.

18:37 May 2, 2017 

Perhaps 'rounded' for the mouth, rather than actually 'round' (= as if she was saying "oh!")

And I would say 'in the same plane'...

Perhaps 'sketchy' features — sounds like her face was not particularly finely carved?

Thes Ancient Egyptians must have spent a heck of a lot of time just admiring themselves in all these mirrors!