[Zeke]

That's a good question about cleaning. I would think there would be "technique" involved cleaning the split areas. AFA stability you can always pin that will a glued dowel. Since they rise you could use one dowel above another with the higher one not all the way through.

You can get decorative with brass. You could use all thread and polish the ends. You could put a butterfly in the face.

Otherwise there will be band saw marks on the interior surfaces and awful to clean. They could be sanded but the gulley of each would tell how it was done.

Not cut with a saw and spread, IMO.

Examining that while typing I think the pieces were completely sawn free, milled, bent with steam and glued up having no pressure or tendency to split.