Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality in Image

This paper presents an analysis of ‘image-within-image’ in Panel VII, Hieroglyphic Stairway 2, Structure 33 of the ancient Maya city of Yaxchilan, considering the position it occupies in the set of panels and its integration in the architectural setting. It will also examine the narrative registered in the embedded text and the subject of both text and image. It will argue that the recursive device of ‘image-within-image’ in the Panel extends to the totality of the staircase with the other twelve that compose it, and to the ritual activity celebrated on it. The analysis will provide an opportunity to explore reflexivity and self-referentiality and their implications for insights on ritual and personhood among Late Classic Maya. To do this, I will build on anthropology of art approach and its notion that visual devices may elicit ontological conceptions.