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Louder Sound

You can buy a ham slicer for $34,000 but the 'ham' is made from copies of Pink Floyd's Animals

Fraser Lewry
2 min read

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 The Berkel ham slicer with Pink Floyd ham.
Credit: Denis Defrancesco.

If you're a Pink Floyd completist looking for something more memorable than a simple Japanese pressing of The Dark Side Of The Moon, we have exciting news: You can now buy a vintage Floyd-themed meat-slicing machine.

The machine, a limited edition of one, features 100 pink vinyl copies of Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals in place of the expected sliced ham. The artwork was commissioned by renowned French artist Denis Defrancesco and built by La Bottega del Restauro, a company in Viazzano, Italy, that specialises in rebuilding and refurbishing vintage Berkel meat slicers.

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According to a post on Defrancesco's website, the slicer, entitled "Marcelle D", was inspired by the artist's youthful encounters with a ham vendor he describes as a "goddess in a delicatessen".

"Her ham was white, pink, and blonde, soft, silky, and milky," muses Defrancesco. "The most voluptuous ham in the world. A thousand and one times have I devoured it, never have I been sated."

"Inaccessible behind her counter, raised as though on a pedestal, her apron like an immaculate drape, her cleavage like the altar of a temple laid for grand ceremonies," he continues. "I was 12 years old, she was 25, I was ready to sacrifice myself."

The meat slicer is available from Defrancesco's website for the princely sum of €33,000, and is also being advertised on eBay for $34,000.

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"All records are original and their sleeves will be provided along with the sculpture as well as a certificate of authentication," confirms the eBay listing. "All elements blend together perfectly and thanks to top-notch craftsmanship one could easily believe this record slicer actually works."

Elsewhere, Defrancesco's sculptures include King Kong Balls, a 2780 kg statue cast in bronze but painted entirely blue - apart from a polished pair of rather prominent testes.

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