When Was The First Exhibition Held?

It si generally recognised that the first exhibition held in Britain was the Great Exhibition of 1851.  This was the brainchild of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert.  It was to be an exhibition to showcase Britain and the Empire and all its capabilities to the whole world.  Crystal Palace in London was specially built to accommodate the Great Exhibition.
However, exhibitions had been held prior to this date.  In Roman times, exhibitions (albeit on a much smaller scale) were held.  In more modern times, exhibitions can be traced back to 1789, when the Marquis d'Aveze had an exhibition in France.  In 1849 the British Society had an exhibition and in that year British manufacturers also held a reasonably large exhibition.
But the Great Exhibition of 1851, is still probably the first international exhibition to take place.  The role of the Empire meant that the British could use foreign imports and goods to show off their industry to other leading nations.