The sarcophagus presents a series of episodes relating to the Passion of Jesus providing both a narrative sequence and an exegetical commentary on its meaning. Five groups of figures are placed within architectural niches framed by six spirally fluted columns crowned with ornate floral capitals. The two groups on the right side portray Christ’s appearance before Pontius Pilate. A helmeted Roman soldier leads Jesus, who holds a scroll and raises his right hand in a gesture of speech. To the right sits Pontius Pilate wearing a royal diadem as a sign of authority; his body faces Jesus but his head is turned away and his chin rests upon his hand in a gesture of grief. Behind Pilate, another Roman official sits and before him stands an attendant pouring water from a jug into a shallow bowl in which Pilate will wash his hands. On the left side of the sarcophagus, in the second niche, an armed Roman soldier places a jeweled wreath on the head of Christ, who stands passively. To the left, Simon of Cyrene carries Christ’s cross pressed on by a Roman soldier, below another wreath.

The central niche contains a composition that, by the use of allusive symbols, depicts Christ’s triumph over death through his Crucifixion and Resurrection. The cross of the Crucifixion is surmounted by the chi-rho monogram held by an eagle. Above, two small busts personify the sun and moon to denote the cosmic significance of Christ’s triumph. Two doves, popular Christian symbols of Resurrection, stand on the cross. The two roman soldiers who guarded the Holy Sepulcher and bore witness to Christ’s resurrection sit at its foot. All the episodes related to the central theme of Christ’s victory allude to the significance of the Passion showing how Christ’s sacrifice and triumph are paralleled by those of earlier old Testament heroes and Christ’s apostolic successors.