The title compound, C28H24N2O5, was prepared from (E)-2-cinnamyl-1,3- diphenyl-propane-1,3-dione using standard Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxy-lation conditions, followed by treatment with 1,1′-carbonyl diimidazole. In the crystal structure, the phenyl rings form inter-molecular face-to-face π-π contacts, with an inter-planar angle of 15.5 (2)° and a centroid-centroid distance of 4.73 (1) Å. One phenyl ring also forms a C - H⋯π contact to an adjacent imidazole ring, with an H⋯centroid distance of 3.18 Å.