Twenty years later, in the reign of King Rama III, he returned to court as a royal scribe, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Sunthorn Phu was born in the reign of King Rama I, on 26 June 1786 (year of the Horse), around 8.00 a.m. His family's house was behind the royal palace, near the present day Bangkok Noi railway station and Wang Lang Market.

At the time the epic poet was born, Bangkok had been established as the Thai capital just four years earlier, founding the Rattanakosin era which continues to the present day.

The epic tale follows the title character, Prince Aphai Mani, a Byronic hero, in his romantic adventures throughout ancient Thailand.

During the reign of King Rama IV, Phu came into the service of viceroy (or vice-king) Pinklao as head of the Front Palace's Royal Scribes Department, and was awarded the title of "Phra".

He died in 1855 at a house by the Khlong Chak Phra canal near Wat Rae Rai temple in Taling Chan district, Bangkok.

[5] His Phra Aphai Mani poems describe a fantastical world, where people of all races and religions live and interact together in harmony.

Thai cinema's first and only cel-animated cartoon feature film, The Adventure of Sudsakorn (1979), was based on a character from Phra Aphai Mani.

The other sculptures represent the main characters in his literary works, including Prince Aphai Mani, the ocean butterfly, and the mermaid.