The title compound, C(10)H(8)O(6), a promising raw material to obtain colorless polyimides which are applied to microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, adopts a folded conformation in which the dihedral angle between the two anhydro rings is 55.15 (8)°. The central six-membered ring assumes a conformation inter-mediate between boat and twist-boat. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O inter-actions, forming a layer parallel to the bc plane.